EU gears up aid programme

Too much EU aid is being squandered on the ground the European commission declared on Thursday.

Unveiling plans to improve the quality of EU assistance, development commissioner Louis Michel said cutting waste would help Brussels improve its standing as a donor.

“I have been out in the field and it has become clear how many European funds are lost through a lack of co-ordination,” Michel told reporters.

“We are the biggest donor world wide at the moment but I find it surprising that we do not have more influence. I am trying to achieve this by adding value to what we are doing.”

The Belgian commissioner insists Thursday’s measures will allow Brussels to do more for development – “and faster.”

But he was keen to down play allegations that the move would see more power handed to the EU executive.

“Development is and will remain a competence shared by the community and the member states,” Michel argued.

“But this does not prevent us joining forces, harmonise our procedures and share the job. Every single euro we spend will contribute more to the fight against poverty if we share this huge task in an intelligent and coordinated way.”

Michel acknowledged that Europe had been discussing a more coherent approach to aid for over 40 years. “So let’s start doing something about it,” he declared.

Landmine Action receives EC funding for its de-mining programme in the Nuba mountains in central Sudan. The group said Thursday’s decision should improve the effectiveness of its aid.

“Any measures that accelerate the delivery of aid are welcomed as are any measures that enhance the effectiveness of aid in terms of its impact on beneficiary communities,” Landmine Action told EUpolitix.com.

In 2005 the EU focused on reinforcing its development work by committing itself to meeting the challenges of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs.)

“The purpose of the aid effectiveness package adopted by the commission is to translate these commitments into action,” the EU executive explained in a statement.

In the past EU governments have voiced concern over slow progress in meeting the millennium targets.

“The EC needs to take a more critical look at how it allocates aid worldwide and how it contributes to meeting the Millenium Development Goals,” the Department for International Development in London explains on its website.

On Thursday the UK welcomed Michel’s proposals in principle but said more time would be needed to consider them fully.

“Bringing coherence to aid as a whole is no bad thing,” one UK official declared.

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