Newly released figures by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee show that the EU remains the world’s leading provider of official development assistance.
The newest figures showed that the EU’s contributions to official development assistance last year equalled €75.7bn overall, which represented 57% of the global total in 2017. What is more, the EU’s contribution reflects 0.5% of the bloc’s gross national income, which is significantly higher than the average contribution of non-EU members, which amounts to 0.21%.
In terms of individual member states, the report shows that four EU countries donated more than 0.7% of their gross national income to official development assistance, including:
- Denmark;
- Luxembourg;
- Sweden; and
- The UK.
The EU has championed these results, and also welcomed the announcement that since 2015, the year in which the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted, the EU’s collective development aid has increased by €7.8bn, or 12%.
How do these aid contributions compare to previous years?
2016 saw the EU’s contribution to development aid reach its highest ever level. However, the figures indicate that both the global total of development assistance, as well as the EU’s contribution, decreased in 2017 compared to this record year.
According to the figures, EU collective aid for 2017 showed a 2.4% decrease over the previous year, corresponding to a value of €1.9bn. The global total contribution was also down, from €131bn in 2016 to €130bn in 2017. However, this is in part thanks to reflows from loans from the European Investment Bank, which increase as the portfolio matures, and which are not counted in totals.
How has the EU responded to the report?
European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, expressed his pride that the EU is providing more than half the global total of official development aid, “investing in people, stronger institutions and societies”.
However, he also warned about the dangers of the overall decrease in the EU’s overall contribution. Mimica said: “I am strongly concerned about the decrease of EU … development assistance worldwide. Achieving sustainable development requires a persistent collective effort. We know we need to do more. As the world’s leading ODA provider the EU must show leadership and responsibility.”
