Parliament adopted an own-initiative report by 539 votes in favour, 52 against with 19 abstentions, on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The report was drafted by Glenys KINNOCK (PES, UK). (Please see the summary of 16/03/05). Parliament also stressed that the target of 20 % for basic education and health should be included in the budget of the EU and the European Development Fund, expanding on the existing target of 35 % for basic social services.

It also expressed its conviction that the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) could be important tools for achieving the MDGs but felt that they need to be revised to better support the MDGs. Parliament called for the ‘quick wins’ to be enshrined in PRSPs and CSPs to make them part of a sustainable and structural approach.

Parliament went on to call for an increased EU contribution to the Global Health Fund, since money so far pledged for 2005 is only 1/4 of the amount needed. The EU and others must work to avoid duplication of effort and promote national ownership of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria policies.

PURPOSE: to present a communication from the Commission on the EU’s contribution to speed up progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

CONTENT: this communication takes stock of the EU’s contribution to development and identifies the

measures that need to be taken to speed up achievement of the MDGs. The EU’s consolidated report on the MDGs, which was drawn up by the Commission at the request of the Member States, shows that the input of the Community and its Member States to the international community’s efforts is substantial. The EU must now do even more.

The report states that in the face of major development challenges, Europe, as a global player, has special responsibilities to shoulder and must fully take on its political role in order to increase the resources for development and the effectiveness of cooperation, and to give adequate support to sub-Saharan Africa, which is behind on progress to many goals.

The consolidated EU report on the MDGs and the report on the follow-up to the Barcelona commitments have highlighted the importance of the efforts made so far. This communication, together with the specific proposals on financing for development and policy coherence for development, sets out guidelines for future action.

Africa , too, can change. Africa has given proof of its willingness to assume responsibility for its political and socio-economic development. A number of countries have embarked on the transition to democracy, peace is returning in many parts of the continent, and economic growth is picking up. The emergence of the African Union and the NEPAD initiative has given birth to an ambitious institutional structure and a charter that places governance and freedom at the heart of development. This year, 2005, could be Africa’s year. Europe must show that it is up to dealing with these developments and playing a leading role in supporting Africa; most importantly this includes giving Africa priority for financing, so helping to fulfil the commitments made by the G8 in 2002. Africa’s road to sustainable development and achievement of the MDGs is a long and hard one. A new dynamic must now be set in motion, the EU and Africa can and must work together to make it happen.

This communication, together with the communications on financing and coherence and related reports, forms the framework of the EU’s contribution to the UN High-Level Event in September this year on the subject of development and synergies with other policies. On this basis, the Commission asks the Council to finalise the EU’s proposals and commitments with a view to speeding up progress to the Millennium Development Goals.

In addition to this, the process now under way should also pave the way for a new declaration on EU development policy designed to lay down a true European Development Strategy. At the Kananaskis Summit (2002) the G8 pledged to allocate at least 50% of additional ODA to Africa. If this pledge were made at EU level and if current trends continue (keeping of Barcelona commitments for 2006), this would mean an additional allocation of more than EUR 6.5 billion a year for Africa.

PURPOSE: to present a Commission communication on accelerating progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals – financing for development and aid effectiveness.

CONTENT: the Communication outlines a way towards a possible new interim target for increased Official Development Assistance (ODA) volumes in the EU by 2010 and towards the UN target for ODA of 0.7% Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015. It suggests new aid modalities as well as a line on innovative finance sources and proposes ways to address the remaining post-Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt problems of low income countries. With regard to Global Public Goods it suggests redefining the EU commitment. On coordination and harmonisation the main challenge ahead lies in credible implementation of the recently agreed EU framework as well as of the results of the recent High Level Forum on aid effectiveness and concrete steps forward on complementarity in aid delivery. The commitment on reform of the International Finance System must be strengthened.

The EU is well on track to deliver on most of the “Barcelona commitments”. The UN High Level Event in September 2005 will focus on how to accelerate progress towards attaining the MDGs, especially in Africa. This challenges the enlarged EU to again demonstrate its commitment to addressing the Financing for Development (FfD) challenge through reinforced EU commitments. With the proposals included in this document, the Commission intends to initiate a discussion with a view to establishing a new set of commitments and to reach an agreement on “Barcelona II”-type commitments. Whereas this Communication focuses on the tools for improved FfD, the Communication on Policy Coherence proposes other policy measures that could be undertaken to support the achievement of the MDGs.

PURPOSE: to present a Commission communication on accelerating progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals – policy coherence for development.

CONTENT: this Communication presents the Commission proposals on the subject of policy coherence. These are set out as follows:

Trade: t he EU is strongly committed to ensuring a development-friendly and sustainable outcome of the Doha Development Agenda and EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The EU will further improve its Generalised System of Preferences, with a view to effectively enhancing developing countries’ exports to the EU. The EU will continue to work towards integrating trade into development strategies and will assist developing countries in carrying out domestic reforms where necessary.

Environment: t he EU will lead global efforts to curb unsustainable consumption and production patterns. The EU will assist developing countries in implementing the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), and will work to ensure that the capacities of developing countries are taken into account during MEA negotiations. The EU will continue to promote pro-poor environment-related initiatives and policies.

Security: t he EU will treat security and development as complementary agendas, with the common aim of creating a secure environment and of breaking the vicious circle of poverty, war, environmental degradation and failing economic, social and political structures. The EU will enhance its policies in support of good and effective governance and the prevention of state fragility and conflict, including by strengthening its response to difficult partnerships/failing states. The EU will strengthen the control of its arms exports, with the aim of avoiding that EU-manufactured weaponry be used against civilian populations or aggravate existing tensions or conflicts in developing countries. The EU will promote cooperation in fighting corruption, organised crime and terrorism.

Agriculture: t he EU will continue its efforts to minimise the level of trade distortion related to its support measures to the agricultural sector, and to facilitate developing countries’ agricultural development.

Fisheries: t he EC will continue to pay particular attention to the development objectives of the countries with which the Community will engage into bilateral fisheries agreements. Within the context of the new EC policy on fisheries partnership agreements with third countries which is being implemented since 2003, the EC will continue to encourage the conclusion of fisheries agreements in order to contribute towards rational and sustainable exploitation of the surplus of coastal States’ marine resources to the mutual benefit of both parties.

Social dimension of globalisation, employment and decent work: t he EU will contribute to strengthening the Social Dimension of Globalisation with a view to ensure maximum benefits for all, both men and women. The EU will promote employment and decent work for all as a global goal. Migration: the EU will promote the synergies between migration and development, to make migration a positive factor for development.

Research and innovation: t he EU will promote the integration of development objectives, where appropriate, into its RTD and Innovation policies, and will continue to assist developing countries in enhancing their domestic capacities in this area.

Information society: t he EU will address the digital divide by exploiting the potential of Information and Communication Technologies as a development tool and as a significant resource for attaining the MDGs.

Transport: t he EU will address the special needs of both land-locked and coastal developing countries by promoting the intermodality issues for achieving network interconnectivity as well as security and safety issues.

Energy: t he EU is strongly committed to contribute to the special needs of developing countries by promoting access to sustainable energy sources and by supporting establishing interconnection of energy infrastructures and networks.

To a considerable extent the above coherence commitments already steer EU policies. A lot of action has already been undertaken, and many new actions have already been planned.

What provides the raison d’etre for this Communication is that these commitments and actions are assessed within the framework of global efforts to achieve the MDGs. By recognizing that these policy objectives should be considered as Coherence for Development Commitments in the context of the MDGs, the EU reconfirms and strengthens its engagement to effectively deliver on these orientations, against the background of the given MDG timeframe between now and 2015.

Lastly, to further enhance EU policy coherence in the specific context of supporting the MDGs, the Commission will compile a mid-term EU Policy Coherence for Development Report, between now and the next international MDG Review, where progress on the coherence commitments proposed in this Communication will be reviewed.

Parliament adopted an own-initiative report by 539 votes in favour, 52 against with 19 abstentions, on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The report was drafted by Glenys KINNOCK (PES, UK). (Please see the summary of 16/03/05). Parliament also stressed that the target of 20 % for basic education and health should be included in the budget of the EU and the European Development Fund, expanding on the existing target of 35 % for basic social services.

It also expressed its conviction that the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) could be important tools for achieving the MDGs but felt that they need to be revised to better support the MDGs. Parliament called for the ‘quick wins’ to be enshrined in PRSPs and CSPs to make them part of a sustainable and structural approach.

Parliament went on to call for an increased EU contribution to the Global Health Fund, since money so far pledged for 2005 is only 1/4 of the amount needed. The EU and others must work to avoid duplication of effort and promote national ownership of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria policies.

The committee adopted the own-initiative report by Glenys KINNOCK ( PES , UK ) on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The committee emphasised that poverty reduction through the achievement of the MDGs and the Millennium Declaration must be recognised unambiguously as the overarching framework for EU development policy and that this must be reflected clearly in all relevant policy and legislative proposals. However, it believed that the MDGs should not be seen as a technical matter which could be resolved simply by providing more money without identifying and tackling the underlying causes of poverty.

MEPs commended those Member States that had reached or passed 0.7% GNI, whilst noting the worrying trend set by some to begin a process of decreasing aid levels, as well as abandoning previous commitments on timetables. The committee stressed that, although the EU seemed currently on target for its intermediary objective of 0.39% of GNI for Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2006, there were large disparities in the performance of its Member States. It therefore called on those Members States still lagging behind to commit themselves to a clear timetable and deadlines for reaching the 0.7% target before 2015.

Lastly, the report said that it was an illusion to achieve the MDG of halving poverty and hunger by 2015, providing free education for all and improving access to health care while developing countries spend four times more on repaying debts than they spend on basic social services.

In September 2000, world leaders from 189 nations agreed and signed the UN Millennium Declaration, binding them to a global project to decisively reduce extreme poverty in all its key dimensions. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that derive from this Declaration provide an agenda for global action. This agenda and the outcomes of the World Social Summit, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Doha Development Agenda and the Monterrey Consensus are mutually supportive processes and essential building blocks of a worldwide partnership for sustainable development.

Over the last four decades, EC development assistance has evolved from a fragmented focus on countries with which EU Member States had strong colonial or other traditional links, to a set of regional co-operation and partnership frameworks providing almost global coverage. During the 1990s, the policies and practices of EC development cooperation gradually integrated into a new global development framework aimed at poverty eradication, promotion of gender equality, access to primary education, improving health and provision of other basic services, as well as sustainable development, and the establishment of global partnerships. The EU has been a major force in this process, and has expressed on numerous occasions its full commitment to ensuring a successful conclusion.

In the Council conclusions of 26 April 2004, the General Affairs Council once again confirmed that achieving the Millennium Development Goals is a key objective for the European Union. In September 2005, the UN General Assembly will take stock of the progress made by UN Members in the implementation of this global development agenda. In preparation for this event, the Commission has compiled this report on the EC contribution towards achieving MDGs.

The report provides information on the extent to which the EC has focused its strategies, procedures and instruments on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. It outlines how the EC contributes to progress towards the MDGs, and lists the further actions that are currently foreseen to promote the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

The report does not address in detail the progress made in and by developing countries, which is the subject of the progress reports drafted by the countries in question. Nor does it look at the performance of EU Member States, as this will be carried out at national level in the Member State reports. The Member State reports, together with the EC report, will provide the basis for an EU synthesis report, due in early 2005. In contrast with the forthcoming synthesis report, the EC report will not propose new measures, but instead limits itself to an inventory of areas where further action may be considered.

Over the coming months, the European Commission will prepare, in close dialogue with the EU Member States, proposals for an EU contribution to the MDG stocktaking event. The level of our ambition can only be high. The EU claims leadership that, in turn, requires political courage and commitment. The EU has expressed the will to make a difference. This implies that the gap between theory and practice needs to be bridged and that words are backed up with resources and action.

The EU synthesis report shall give an answer to the question of how to finance the MDGs, and how funding can be channelled and used more effectively to accelerate impact. It shall look into new actions on other policy areas captured by MDG8, such as policy coherence, trade and debt sustainability. Finally, the EC shall consider using the UN 2005 Major Event platform for the launching of a major new EU initiative on Africa.