EU budget cuts could cost lives in developing countries, warn NGOs

Joint NGO press release by Oxfam, CONCORD, Plan and ONE

Brussels, 20 November 2012 - Leading NGOs call on EU leaders to protect EU development aid against short-sighted cuts ahead of this week’s special EU Budget summit.

Cuts tabled last week disproportionately target EU development and humanitarian aid, a clear attempt to balance the EU’s books on the backs of the world’s poor. In their attempts to reach agreement on the next 7-year EU budget, EU member states must preserve EU aid, a smart investment that represents just 6% of the overall budget.

“We could be seeing some large aid cuts of up to €9.6 billion. This would be a mistake as in times of crisis investment in poverty reduction and development is even more well-founded and important for global stability. By acting together, the EU as a donor is able to provide more added value, achieve greater impact, cheaply” said Olivier Consolo, Director of Concord, the European confederation of Relief and Development NGOs.

“Spending less than €0.50 per citizen per week is a sound investment in our common future and 85% of EU citizens support it. Cutting aid to the world’s poorest countries by almost 10% is a damaging attempt to balance the EU’s budget on the backs of the world’s poor” said Natalia Alonso, Head of Oxfam International's EU Office.

“For the EU to turn its back on developing countries now would risk undoing the good progress towards poverty reduction which has been made in recent years. It is clear that there are few ‘friends of development’ among EU member states, who are effectively using life-saving aid as a bargaining chip in their negotiations” said Karen Schroh, Head of Plan EU Office.

“EU aid is effective and makes a huge difference to the world’s poorest.  But it will also more than pay for itself by 2020.  The latest research shows that as well as boosting GDP in sub-Saharan Africa and globally, EU taxpayers would recoup the funds for the world’s poorest with a 20% return on investment.  There’s just no good reason to cut aid.”, said Eloise Todd, Brussels Director of ONE

In just six years, EU aid has made a lasting difference in the lives of millions and helped them out of poverty: 50 million people were stopped from being hungry, more than nine million children have enrolled in primary education, more than five million have been vaccinated against measles and more than 31 million people have been connected to drinking water.