Development

Influencing EU development aid

On a practical note, this committee is responsible for deciding the budget for EU aid spending, and monitoring the European Commission, the European External Action Service and all those using EU aid funds. It regularly engages in political dialogue, both bilaterally and with relevant international organisations and interparliamentary forums, promoting democratic values, good governance and human rights in developing countries.

It is also pushing hard for better coordination between donor countries and agencies, including cooperation agreements with developing countries. The EPP Group helped develop the procedures for offering financial assistance to third countries.

Beyond financial assistance

For the EPP Group, eradicating poverty must remain at the heart of European Development Policy. We believe in focusing aid on the poorest countries and fragile states, where extreme poverty is widespread and aid can have the greatest impact.

However, because aid will not alone create development, we want to do more than that: promoting peace, human rights, democracy, good governance, as well as sustainable social, economic and environmental development, are also key priorities for us. We have regularly called for concrete measures to make the EU’s internal policies on migration, trade, finance, agriculture and the environment compatible with global development objectives, such as the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.

The EPP Group gave the green light to the European Fund for Sustainable Development which aims to tackle root causes of migration by providing €3.3 billion in loans and guarantees to mobilise €44 billion in private investment in risk areas, mainly in Africa but also the Western Balkans and the Middle East.