ONE’s team in Brussels is working at the heart of the European institutions, campaigning and influencing decision-makers to keep on advancing the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases. Here’s what’s keeping the team and our global activists across Europe busy.
1. The EU’s seven-year budget
The EU’s seven-year budget, also known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), has kept the Brussels team occupied, with more than two years of relentless campaigning. On 21 July at a European Council summit that lasted four days and four nights, EU leaders finally reached a deal. Unfortunately, this was not a great deal for people living in extreme poverty. EU development aid was slashed — but the battle is not over yet. The European Parliament has adopted a resolution asking for increases for future-oriented policy areas, including international development.
As the European Parliament prepares to negotiate with the Council before voting on the draft agreement, ONE is calling on members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to push for increases to the EU’s future aid budget.
2. ONE World
2.1. Debt
COVID-19 started as a global health crisis, but it has also sparked an economic crisis that is being particularly felt in African countries. While some leaders acted quickly to control the virus, many did not. Richer governments have unleashed unprecedented spending to prop up their own economies and industries, while moves to support developing economies have been slower and revenues have dried up. The dramatic drop in raw materials and falling wages and foreign finances have resulted in projections of an economic downturn worse than the 2008 financial crisis.
Debt relief is one of the fastest, most effective means of freeing up cash in lower-income country budgets. Following the lead of African governments, ONE is calling on bilateral, private, and multilateral creditors to immediately suspend debt repayments through at least 2021 and will be pushing for this at the next G20 Finance Minister Meeting in October and the G20 Summit in November. We have collected more information on debt repayments at ONE’s Debt Dashboard.
Add your voice to our petition urging G20 representatives, the World Bank, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to suspend all debt repayments for the world’s poorest countries.
2.2. Vaccines
The COVID-19 pandemic will have the worst consequences on the countries and people least able to withstand the shock. To better understand COVID-19’s impact on African countries specifically, we created the Africa COVID-19 tracker.
We have to make sure that when a COVID-19 vaccine is produced, it is equally accessible for everyone on the planet. That’s why a coalition of international organisations, governments, scientists, businesses, civil society, philanthropists, and global health organisations created the ACT (Access to COVID-19 Tools) Accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. If fully funded, it aims to deliver 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021, including 1 billion to the poorest countries.
- Want to know more about a COVID-19 vaccine? There is currently no approved vaccine for COVID-19. But more than 150 COVID-19 vaccine candidates are under development. Of these, 13 have moved to clinical trials and are being tested on humans.
- It is now more than ever that we should remember that none of us are safe until all of us are safe! Join us in demanding our world leaders take global actions against COVID-19: sign our petition!
3. Africa-Europe Partnership
In March, the European Commission released a strategy to develop a renewed partnership with Africa in the lead up to the 6th Summit between the African Union and the European Union in October.
ONE is campaigning to ensure youth voices have a say in the Africa-Europe partnership. enlisted our global activists from Africa and Europe to influence the policy and processes behind this renewed partnership around four key issues: job creation, transparency, health, and human development.
By facilitating training, workshops, and surveys, ONE will gather youth voices, and find key moments to amplify them in the lead up to the AU-EU Summit on 28 – 29 October, and the AU-EU Youth Summit planned some days before.
