ukwirednews
Politics
Most EU aid 'goes to richer nations' - MPs
Published: 27th Apr 2012 02:24:08
More than half of Europe's development aid budget is going to "relatively rich" countries like Turkey and Serbia, British MPs have warned.
The International Development Committee said the situation "could devalue the concept of aid" and called on the UK government to demand change.
The UK gave £1.23 billion in aid via the EU in 2010.
Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell said he agreed the EU must "refocus on the poorest countries".
The committee reveals that only 46% of EU aid meant for developing countries goes to low-income states - a figure it calls "unacceptable".
The rest, it says, goes to "middle-income" states, adding: "Turkey has consistently been in the top five recipients of European Commission aid (£182 million in 2010) as has Serbia (£178 million in 2010)."
The MPs also criticised the administrative bill for the EU programme, pointing out they were twice as high as the Department for International Development's own costs.
The committee urged the UK government to challenge the definition of official development assistance (ODA), through which the relevant EU aid is spent.
"It appears to be being used as a way of fudging the figures to help other European countries meet the (internationally agreed) target for 0.7% of GDP to be given as aid," chairman and Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce said.
If aid is not about helping the poorest then it is not worthy of the name”
The MPs said Mr Mitchell had argued "it would take forever and be difficult" to change the definition of ODA so as to exclude relatively wealthy countries.
"We do not accept this: the government should be bolder and less risk averse by tackling the criteria for ODA so that more funding goes to the world's poorest people and the poorest countries, and less to the European neighbourhood," Mr Bruce said.
"Failure to do this may undermine the UK public's support for EU institutions."
Mr Bruce added: "British taxpayers want the aid they give to go to the places where it can make the most difference, to countries where millions of people are getting by on less than a pound a day.
"Giving aid to relatively rich countries like Turkey could devalue the concept of aid."
Oxfam policy adviser Claire Godfrey said the organisation fully supported the call for aid to be better targeted.
"If aid is not about helping the poorest then it is not worthy of the name," she said. "But reopening the definition of ODA is not necessary and could be counter-productive."
She added: "The UK government should support an increase in EU aid, which this report shows is delivering improved results."
Mr Mitchell backed the report's central message, saying: "Following relentless pressure from the coalition government, the EU is already reforming the way it spends aid, making it more transparent, results-focused and targeted at the poorest people."
But he defended aid for Turkey, insisting: "Supporting Turkish accession to the EU has been the policy of successive British governments and is firmly in the national interest."
Harvard Citation
BBC News, 2012. Most EU aid 'goes to richer nations' - MPs. [Online] (Updated 27 Apr 2012)Available at: http://www.ukwirednews.com/news.php/1424939-Most-EU-aid-goes-to-richer-nations-MPs [Accessed 25th May 2013]
Latest News
-
At 07:23:30 in Headlines
Newspaper review: Press report on radical Islam concerns
The newspapers report on the moves to tackle radical Islam following Drummer Lee Rigby's murder in south-east London on Wednesday.... -
At 07:14:32 in England
Needham Market parents' victory for autistic son's education
The parents of a boy with autism have won their legal battle to have him taught at a private school in Suffolk.... -
At 06:46:26 in England
Two questioned after UK plane alert
Two men are being questioned on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft after RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled to escort a passenger plane o... -
At 06:43:38 in Headlines
Pakistan school bus gas blast kills 17 children
At least 17 children have been burned to death after a gas cylinder exploded on their school bus in eastern Pakistan, police have said.... -
At 06:02:13 in England
Plane 'fire': Heathrow back to normal
Heathrow operator BAA says it is expecting business as usual on Saturday after a British Airways plane had to return to the airport to make ... -
At 05:57:07 in England
Gun alert at Salford Royal Hospital: Two arrested
A man believed to be armed with a gun made threats to hospital staff, police have said.... -
At 05:16:02 in Politics
Warnings over flagship projects
More than 30 of the coalition's flagship schemes, including Universal Credit and the West Coast Main Line scheme, are at serious risk o... -
At 05:14:50 in Headlines
France to begin first stage of Mali military withdrawal
France is set to begin the first major stage of its military withdrawal from Mali, four months after sending troops to push Islamist rebels ... -
At 03:11:56 in Health
Neuron growth in children 'leaves no room for memories'
The reason we struggle to recall memories from our early childhood is down to high levels of neuron production during the first years of lif... -
At 03:04:02 in Headlines
Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio 'profiled' Hispanics, says judge
The office of an Arizona lawman who styles himself America's toughest sheriff improperly targeted Hispanics in routine patrols for undo...
News In Other Categories
-
Viewpoint: Mars - what we've learnt in five years
On 25 May, it will be five years since Nasa's robotic spacecraft Phoenix touched down in the Martian "arctic". Here, Dr Tom P... -
Trafalgar Square marks 350 years of West End theatre
The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables have been announced as shows performing free songs to the public, to mark 350 years of West End ... -
Needham Market parents' victory for autistic son's education
The parents of a boy with autism have won their legal battle to have him taught at a private school in Suffolk.... -
How porn twisted one teenager's experience of sex
As a report says early access to extreme online pornography can leave children with a distorted view of sex, one woman talks candidly and ex... -
Newspaper review: Press report on radical Islam concerns
The newspapers report on the moves to tackle radical Islam following Drummer Lee Rigby's murder in south-east London on Wednesday.... -
Leading ladies: The many faces of Mary, Queen of Scots
Australian actress Adelaide Kane is to play Mary, Queen of Scots in a new US drama. But she is not the first actress to portray the troubled...



