Development & Aid, Europe, Headlines, Poverty & SDGs

DEVELOPMENT: Europeans Unaware of Millennium Goals

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 2005 (IPS) - European citizens expect the European Union to play a central role in development cooperation, but most are unaware what it is doing for development, according to a survey released Friday.

The survey ‘Attitudes towards Development Aid’ reveals that 51 percent of those questioned believe that Europe is “best placed” to play a central role in development cooperation, especially in Africa.

However, more than three-quarters were unaware of the European Union’s contributions towards the world’s poorest countries, despite the fact that Europe is the leading aid donor.

The European Union (EU) and its member states spend more than 30 billion euros (39 billion dollars) a year in public aid to developing countries. The EU has committed itself to raising the aid total to 39 billion euros (51 billion dollars) by 2006.

The public opinion poll conducted by Eurobarometer, the European Commission’s public opinion centre, also found that some 88 percent of European citizens have never heard of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), four years after they were adopted.

The MDGs include a 50 percent reduction in poverty and hunger, universal primary education, reduction of child mortality by two-thirds, cutbacks in maternal mortality by three-quarters, promotion of gender equality, and reversal of the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

A millennium summit of 189 world leaders in Sept. 2000 pledged to meet all of these goals by 2015. A summit later this year will review progress towards the goals and set the development agenda for the next decade.

Each EU country, other than the bloc’s 10 new member states, has agreed to contribute more than 0.7 percent of its gross national income (GNI) by 2015 to meet the United Nations target. New member states are committed to contributing 0.33 percent of their GNI by the 2015 deadline.

Progress to meeting these targets has been slow. A report released by a group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Feb. 14 found that only four EU member states – Sweden, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Denmark – have so far fulfilled the aim of meeting the 0.7 percent target.

Some of the bloc’s richest member states such as Germany and Italy are doing little to help achieve the MDGs. Italy is currently contributing only 0.17 percent of GNI.

Many of those questioned say that Europe could play a pivotal role in providing aid development, but they are less optimistic that the MDGs would be met by 2015, after interviewers briefed them on what the goals were.

Only 29 percent said the EU could help halve extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. Only 5 percent were absolutely confident that those goals would be met.

There was slightly more optimism on the education goals. Two in five citizens believed that universal primary education and promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women would be achieved, but only 7 percent said the EU would definitely achieve those goals.

It is the first time that this two-yearly opinion poll on development policy has covered the 25 EU member states and has included questions on the MDGs.

Louis Michel, EU commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, has promised to “sell the idea of development” across Europe, and has launched a campaign to raise the level of awareness of development issues amongst the bloc’s 450 million citizens.

He has also made it a priority to encourage member states to increase their aid and re-evaluate their development policies.

Following the poll, Michel renewed his call for a genuine European development strategy.

“While respecting the sharing of competence with the member states, I advocate better coordination and greater visibility. And, in the light of this survey, this is what our fellow citizens expect,” Michel said Friday.

“European taxpayers have the right to know how their money is being spent, how we help the developing countries, how we are fighting against poverty and infectious diseases and what we are doing to promote good governance, democracy and fundamental rights,” he added.