Europe’s global leadership is at stake over its next long term budget

Brussels – Ahead of the European Council on 13-14 December 2018, ONE is calling on EU leaders to prioritize development aid in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) which will be discussed for the first time by heads of state in Brussels. The EU’s seven-year budget will take us to three years before the 2030 deadline for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and will be crucial in defining whether the world is able – or not – to end extreme poverty.

The current European Commission’s proposal at €123bn will not put the EU on track to meet the SDGs or achieve 0.7% of GNI/ODA commitment, and leaders need to remedy this. If EU countries make progress towards the 0.7% development commitment, and if EU institutions continue to contribute about 20% of total EU aid, the next MFF aid budget will need to amount to €140bn.

Friederike Röder, EU and France Director at The ONE Campaign, said:

“EU leaders have an opportunity tomorrow to start thinking long-term with the MFF. Migration and Brexit will make the headlines but EU leaders need to grab this opportunity to assert Europe’s role as a global leader committed to fighting extreme poverty and inequalities.

ONE’s analysis has revealed that a €140bn EU aid budget could give 32.5 million children access to school and deliver access to basic health and nutrition to 43.5 million people per year. The EU’s next MFF is more than a spreadsheet. It can actually make a real difference to people’s lives.

But the European Commission’s MFF proposal at just €123bn lags behind this potential and jeopardises the 0.7% target and the SDGs. We need EU leaders to put forward a budget that invests in potential and becomes a cornerstone of a new partnership between Africa and Europe.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

An EU budget that invest in potential, ONE’s brief charting the results that EU aid could deliver at a time when Sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than half of the world’s extreme poor.