Press Statement - European Parliament enforces its rights (16 February 2007)

By Max van den Berg MEP

[Unoffical translation]

Brussels, 16/02/07: The European Parliament undertakes strong action to force the Commission and Council to adhere to the new development cooperation regulation.

On Thursday 15 February, Parliament adopted a resolution in which it demanded that the new development regulation, which was adopted last December, is respected. Furthermore, the European Parliament demanded that there is a focus on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Drafting a resolution like this is a rare procedure. It forces the Commission to reconsider the country strategy papers (CSPs) and to justify its choices to the European Parliament.

Starting last Christmas, Parliament's development commitee has cooperated intensively with experts to examine 33 CSPs for Asia and Latin America to see if they respect the new regulation. This regulation, which was hard-fought by Parliament, entered into force on 1 January 2007 and governs all European development cooperation expenditure for the next seven years. The Millennium Development Goals are the foremost priority of this new regulation. The total budget amounts to almost 17 billion Euro, of which two-thirds has been allocated for the CSPs.

This week, Parliament has determined that in most cases there is insufficient focus on the MDGs. Moreover, it has revealed that in at least three cases, the planned expenditure does not meet the requirements of pure development aid. In these cases, the main foci are Europe’s own interests, trade or bilateral relations rather than the eradication of poverty.

The development commitee is currently still examining a large number of CSPs and thematic strategy papers.

Click here to read the European Parliament resolution