EU, aid to development: contrasting figures"Development aid is both solidarity and an investment to make the world safer and more prosperous" EU Development aid Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, commented on the figures released a few days ago by the OECD, according to which with 53 billion of development aid in 2011, the European Union and its 27 Member States remains the world biggest donor, "providing more than half of global official aid". "At a time of heavy budgetary constraints, 16 Member States managed to increase their aid, three of them are ranked among the five largest donors worldwide (Germany, France, and the United Kingdom) and four of them (Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg) have already reached the target of spending 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI) on aid". The EU Commission points out that "efforts are still needed to reach the agreed target of 0.7% EU GNI by 2015". Piebalgs added: "Despite the crisis, Europe reaffirms its solidarity with the poorest across the world. EU aid has pulled millions of people out of poverty and saved countless lives over the last ten years". An analysis of humanitarian aid and international cooperation provided by the EU and its Member States shows that EU official aid declined by about 500 million compared to 2010, a drop from 0.44% of GNI in 2010 to 0.42% in 2011. The amount of total aid increased, despite the crisis, by 0.37% of GNI in 2007 and 0.40% in 2008, reaching 0.44% in 2010. According to forecasta by OECD and EU, these figures should reach 0.44% of the EU’s GDP by 2015. The Commission will present its 2012 EU Accountability Report on Financing for Development, in June 2012.Citizens’ initiative: a website with all the answersCan the citizens of a non-EU country organize a citizens’ initiative? "No: the members of the committee must be nationals of an EU country". What is the age requirement for the organizers of an EU citizens’ initiative? "18 years old except in Austria, where the voting age is 16". These are two of the countless questions on the Citizens’ Initiative, (the signature collection to call on the European Commission to propose legislation), all answers are to be found on the dedicated website http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative, to clarify all aspects regarding the new opportunity operative since April 1st offered to European citizens to propose a law to the EU legislative bodies. The website provides a step-by-step guide to organize an initiative (on subjects that fall within EU responsibilities), join an initiative and interact with the Commission, that is called to respond to the promoting Committee, as well as information on the signatories to submit to the EU, an ECI Help Desk and useful resources regarding procedures. "An initiative has to be backed by at least one million EU citizens, coming from at least 7 out of the 27 member states".Public Consultation on environment protectionProtecting the environment, improving citizens’ quality of life, protecting public health, are the main targets of the environmental policy of the European Union, guided by an Action Plan in the short period. The European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather views on the 7th Environmental Action Programme (7th EAP), which will set out priority objectives to be pursued from 2014 until 2020. The Consultation (that can be accessed by logging on www.ec.europa.eu/environment) will close on June 1st. European Commissioner for Environment Janez Potoènik said: "The EU is home to some of the most ambitious environmental rules to be found anywhere in the world. These rules are doing a lot to protect our environment and people. But their strength depends on their implementation on the ground and we need to make them fit for new challenges". Thus citizens, experts, enterprises, political bodies and Member States are invited "to say what we can do to better protect our environment and sustain our prosperity within the planet’s limits". The EU "may not be able to do everything, but we would like to hear where it can have the biggest impact, and how, for improving the quality of our environment – for ourselves and for the children of our children". The Commission made known that "The results of the public consultation, will inform the further development of the Commission’s proposal for the 7th EAP, which it plans to present before the end of this year.
