There is scepticism about whether the EU objective of reducing extreme poverty in the world by 50% by 2015 will be achieved, and widespread conviction of the importance of aid allocated to trying to curb the advance of Aids in the developing countries. These at least are the findings of a survey conducted by Eurobarometer in December 2004 on a sample of 25,000 Europeans, from which it emerges that 36% of the interviewees think it is particularly useful and necessary for the EU to invest in the campaign against transmissible diseases, against 35% who think that priority should be given instead to primary education. The campaign against poverty (25%) takes third place, followed by the protection of fundamental rights (24%) and measures to control migratory phenomena (18%). In the light of the survey’s conclusions (), to which should be added the high percentage (41%) of those entirely ignorant of the existence of any humanitarian aid programme run by the EU (despite the fact that it is the leading world donor), EU Commissioner for development Louis Michel underlined the intention to “educate European citizens in the fact that their money is being used to combat poverty and diseases and support democracy and fundamental rights”.
