UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Tuesday welcomed a proposal from the European Union that its members increase their official development assistance (ODA) to a level that will provide an additional 25 billion US dollar (godt 142 milliarder DKR) to developing countries by 2010.
– The Secretary-General warmly welcomes the European Unions strong support for his efforts to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), he said in a statement. The goals were designed in 2000 to reduce a host of socio-economic problems by 2015.
He particularly applauded the European Unions targets, laid down by the European Commission, as consistent with his recommendations to next Septembers UN summit.
– These would not only trigger an estimated additional 20 billion euros by 2010, they would also bring EU countries closer to the target of ODA amounting to 0,7 per cent of their gross national income (GNI) by 2015, the statement said.
The EUs Commission recommended that old Member States increase their ODA to a new individual baseline of 0,51 per cent of GNI, if they had not yet reached it, and new Member States donate 0,17 per cent of GNI, giving a collective average ODA target for the Union of 0,56 per cent of GNI.
– Both targets – if achieved – could allow the EU to reach 0,7 percent ODA by 2015. This would put the EU, as the worlds largest donor, in a position to comply with a basic international aid target, the Commission said.
Mr. Annan also hailed the EUs “increasing emphasis on trade and other non-aid policies as a means of reaching the MDGs and by the decision of the EU to focus on the needs of Africa.”
The EUs 25 Member States
– comprise (udgør) 13 per cent of UN membership,
– account for almost 30 per cent of the world economy and
– are the biggest trading entity in the world
all according to the Commissions website.
