By Gemma Lougheed - 8th June 2005
EU leaders will meet in Brussels for a European Summit on June 16-17. They are expected to back ambitious new targets for aid proposed by the European Commission in April.
The EU’s Overseas Development Aid for 2005 is €46 billion, making it the largest donor of overseas aid in the world.
Under new proposals development aid targets of 0.56 per cent of gross national income by 2010 were set - putting the EU on course to meet the UN's 0.7 per cent target by 2015.
“I welcome the endorsement of these proposals by development ministers. What we need now is for EU leaders at next week’s summit to put their full political weigh behind the new targets”, said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Agreement on aid at the summit will send President Barroso, who will attend the G8 summit in Scotland on July 6 – with a powerful message about the level of ambition the EU has.
“I call on them to agree to get Europe on the path to doubling aid in the next ten years. That is the European message of leadership and ambition which I can take to the G8 meeting in the Gleneagles”, said Barroso at a press conference in Brussels.
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