Christians welcome EU aid breakthrough
-25/05/05
Christians have welcomed a “major breakthrough” in the fight against world poverty, which has been hammered out in Brussels.
The deal, agreed by the EU’s 15 richest nations, will virtually double the bloc’s combined aid effort, from £22.4 billion a year in 2004 to £44.3 billion in 2010.
The newest ten member states, most of them relatively poor, agreed a parallel target of 0.17 per cent of their national wealth.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown welcomed the deal, saying: “I do believe we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a huge difference. Today the EU have decided that they will double aid.
“We are raising an extra billion by doing that, and if all the richest countries that are meeting in Gleneagles in a few weeks’ time can agree on a package, that will mean debt relief, aid, trade justice.
“I praise the European countries, all 25 of them, which deserve support from the rest of the world.”
In the run-up to the Scottish summit, the Government plans to set out a package of measures to assist Africa, including the new aid commitment, plans on debt relief and a new international finance facility to allow poor countries to raise funds on the money markets.
Anthea Cox, Methodist Coordinating Secretary for Public Life and Social Justice said; “We applaud the increased aid commitment from the European Union, and we hope that this leads to further progress at the G8 summit in July.
“‘More and better aid’ is one of the three goals of the Make Poverty History campaign, which the Methodist Church enthusiastically backs. What we need now are moves towards fairer trade rules and dropping the debt burden that keeps so many across the world in poverty. Much work still needs to be done by the world’s leaders, but today’s news is definitely something to celebrate.”