Brussels, 28 November 2016 – Today, as the EU adopted its Common Position for the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation High Level Meeting taking place in Nairobi on 30 November – 1 December, Europe’s development NGOs urged EU leaders to set themselves a clear timeline to achieve their commitments, crucial to delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Nairobi meeting city

The EU and its member states could give a very clear sign of their commitment by announcing time bound implementation plans in Nairobi for the ‘unfinished business’ of aid effectiveness. A clear plan of action to deliver on the SDGs, with a roadmap to achieve the 0.7% ODA/GNI promise and action to deliver on aid effectiveness will ensure that all EU aid is high-impact, value for money and enables change in the lives of world’s poorest people by genuinely delivering sustainable development.

CONCORD wants the EU and its member states to implement the development effectiveness principles as it has committed to do numerous times. The EU should take action to strengthen local ownership of development, protect and promote civic space which is under threat in Europe and worldwide, improve transparency and accountability in member states which missed 2015 commitments and ensure frequent monitoring of aid effectiveness commitments to learn and hasten progress.

The Nairobi High-Level Meeting is a chance for Europe’s leaders to step up and show leadership on aid and development effectiveness. Setting targets and clear implementation plans would be one of the most obvious ways of doing that – one that will show partner countries we are serious about keeping our promises and show other countries that it can be done. Most importantly it would also mean that less aid is wasted or used ineffectively, that more aid reaches those who need it most, so EU aid makes a real difference in the world.

Izabella Toth

CONCORD Board Member

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

CONCORD EUROPE:

CONCORD is the European confederation of relief and development NGOs. Its 28 national associations, 20 international networks and 3 associate members represent 2,600 non-governmental organisations, supported by millions of citizens across Europe.

Migration and Aid: CONCORD does not support a Development Policy that, rather than focusing on poverty elimination, the achievement of fundamental human rights and reducing inequalities in the world, is instead being used to stop migrants and asylum seekers from entering Europe. More info in:

Aid budget: The European Union has again failed to meet its commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on Development Aid by 2015. The CONCORD AidWatch report 2016, entitled ‘This is not enough’, reveals that only five countries met their 2015 targets: Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom. This means there is a ‘debt’ of €36.9billion in 2015 between what the EU has promised to developing countries and what it has delivered.

NAIROBI MEETING:

The Second High Level Meeting of the GPEDC (Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation) takes place from 28 November to 1 December in Nairobi. This is particularly important as governments mobilise to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and the GPEDC framework currently represents the only existing monitoring framework at the global level and at scale to feed into the Sustainable Development Goals follow up and review process.

  • EU Common Position on the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation – position adopted on Monday during the Foreign Affairs Council (28 November)

Launch of the new EU Consensus on Development: Federica Mogherini, the Vice-President of the EC, during the launch of the new EU Consensus for Development reiterated the engagement of the EU and its member states to reach the 0.7% target. Speech available here.