Spare the applause

In the 15-member European Union the average percentage that governments have allocated to aid to the development of the poor countries has remained stable at 0.33% of GDP, equivalent to 47.5 billion euros, of which 30% is so-called “inflated aid”, i.e. aid derived from operations of cancelling foreign debt. So a third of aid to development “is not genuine” and the EU governments risk “not keeping their international pledges on aid”, made in 2002 and 2005. This is the denunciation contained in the report entitled “Spare the applause” (the invitation is addressed to European countries in their relations to their governments), drawn up by Concord, the network that represents over 1600 NGOs for development from all over Europe. The report was presented in Brussels on 11 May. Here’s what emerges from it. “GHOST” AID. “Various European governments are swelling the scale of their progress as aid donors by inflating the figures of aid with debt cancellation, especially to Iraq and Nigeria”, says the Concord report: “In 2006, the huge figure of 10.5 billion of euros calculated as aid was in actual fact debt cancellation. The sole cancellation of the debts of Iraq and Nigeria is worth 8 billion euros”. But that’s not all: European governments are also calculating as aid their costs for assistance of refugees and foreign students. According to Concord’s calculations, “1 billion euros of expenditure for refugees and 1.7 billion for the education of foreign students in Europe were billed as public aid to the development for the poor countries in 2006”. Those most guilty of inflating the figures of their aid – maintain the 1600 European NGOs – “are the French and Austrian governments: over half of their public aid to development cannot be considered as real aid (but as so-called “ghost” aid)”. Concord’s analysis shows that Italy and Germany are also guilty of similar practices: “Italy inflates just under half of its aid, while Germany inflates over a third”. THE “BEST”. The countries that allocate most money to development aid include Sweden, Luxembourg, Holland and Denmark. Other countries show encouraging signs of rapid growth at the level of aid. The figures for Irish aid rose by a third in 2006. Spain and the UK have also made significant progress. “In spite of that – explains the report -, the fact remains that all the countries cited have artificially inflated the figures of their aid”. IF EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS… do not improve their annual performances in terms of aid to development, the poor countries will receive 50 billion euros less from Europe, by 2010, than what was promised to them, warns the report: “That’s the money needed to help the 1400 women who die each day during childbirth in the developing countries, due to lack of proper healthcare. It’s also the money needed to help the 4000 children who die each day from diarrhoea and help send to school some 80 million children, especially girls”. THERE’S NO TIME TO LOSE. “Europeans have the moral imperative to keep their promises with genuine – and not fictitious – resources. There’s no time to lose”, warns the European network of NGOs, which makes some specific recommendations. “More resources are needed, but a growth in the volume of aid is not per se sufficient – they explain -. The way in which the aid money is distributed and spent needs a radical improvement”. European NGOs therefore ask their respective governments “to furnish “real’ increases to European aid; to agree on an annual, clear and obligatory calendar, to hit at least the targets fixed for 2010 and 2015; to stop including the costs for refugees, foreign students and debt cancellation in the official accounts of public aid to development; to improve the transparency of accounts; to cease any constraints on aid; to ensure that the aid is focused on the struggle against poverty and inequality; and to make further progress in ensuring a greater effectiveness of aid”. “We will applaud the governments that meet the challenge – concludes the report – and continue to criticise those on the contrary that fail”.