DEVELOPMENT: Rise in EU Aid Welcomed

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Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Jan 22 2004 (IPS) - A leading group has welcomed the increased aid budget of the European Union this year.

The European Union (EU) has produced an aid budget of 611 million dollars for 2004 to be disbursed by the European Commission’s humanitarian aid office (ECHO). The budget is up from 551 million dollars last year, and separate from the national aid budgets of the 15 EU member countries.

"The budget the EU has committed to ECHO is on a rising trend," Samantha Chaitkin from the Brussels-based Voluntary Organisations In Cooperation In International Emergencies (VOICE) told IPS. The group is a network of European non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

"A January 2003 resolution from the European Parliament suggested 630-692 million dollars," she said. "We’re not quite there yet, but we’re going in the right direction."

Many civil society groups have expressed concern that 2004 will be a challenging year for the EU’s development agenda. On May 1 the EU will expand with the addition of ten new member states (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia). Elections to the European Parliament are due in June.

A draft constitution drawn up last year needs to be agreed. The draft proposes radical changes to development policy, including appointment of a European foreign minister to conduct a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Many fear this could subordinate aid to political policy.

Chaitkin said it "remains to be seen" what impact institutional changes this year will have on ECHO. "We hope that the new Commission, whatever its size and shape, will maintain a strong, influential, voting commissioner responsible for humanitarian aid and development."

Chaitkin also expressed the hope that "the new European Parliament will maintain humanitarian aid as a priority in the mandate of its committee on development cooperation, and that the new member states will agree with the 15 that the delivery of needs-based, impartial humanitarian aid is an important function of the European Commission."

The new constitution should "preserve humanitarian aid and ensure that it remains a neutral, needs-based, and impartial activity carried out by professionals such as NGOs," Chaitkin said.

ECHO director Costanza Adinolfi says the EU will continue to provide "humanitarian aid within a framework of institutional transition." Announcing plans for the new year earlier this week, Adinolfi said "ECHO will be a pro-active donor this year, defending and advocating a humanitarian policy based on the key principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and non-discrimination."

The aid budget will be spent through ECHO’s partner organisations which include United Nations relief agencies, the Red Cross and more than 200 NGOs.

Chaitkin is confident the funds would go to the most needy. "ECHO is better placed than most Commission services to ensure that the money reaches the beneficiaries because it uses partners, especially NGOs, to deliver the aid and is able to do so quickly."

The 611 million dollars at ECHO’s disposal will be spread over aid projects in more than 50 countries. A further emergency reserve of 275 million dollars may be set aside for unforeseen crises.

About a third of the budget (205 million dollars) will go to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (50 million dollars), Sudan (31 million dollars) and Zimbabwe (23.1 million dollars).

ECHO has earmarked 52 million dollars jointly for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Some 26 million dollars are set aside for helping with the humanitarian situation in Iraq, and 43 million dollars for the Middle East.

While ECHO will continue to provide humanitarian aid in places such as Chechnya and Zimbabwe, Adinolfi said a "political solution" is needed in such countries. "The EU will continue to put pressure on these countries to find a solution to the crises there, but we must try to remain autonomous."

Commenting on EU sanctions against Zimbabwe due to be renewed Feb. 20, Adinolfi urged European leaders to get the right mix to pressure the government without placing further burden on the people.

"Sanctions are an instrument to be used with common sense and intelligently," she said. "Very often the first victims are the civilians but we still need this type of tool."