International Aid
“It is possible to eradicate extreme poverty in a generation. It is possible to improve substantially the level of access to basic social services. It is possible to stop the spread of AIDS, of tuberculosis, and of malaria. It is possible to reverse deforestation. All that can be done. And if it is possible, then we must do it.”
– Louis Michel
EU Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner
The European Commission and the EU Member States combined constitute the world's largest single donor in the struggle against poverty. The massive European commitment to development, over $50 billion per year, accounts for more than half of all official development aid to more than 160 countries spanning the globe from the EU’s neighbors to Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.
In addition to regular development aid, the EU is a leading donor of emergency and humanitarian aid. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) provides food, medical supplies, water purification systems, shelter and other essential items to disaster victims around the world.
The EU and Development Policy
The EU is constantly striving for progress in the fight against poverty and toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of 8 development targets to be achieved by 2015. This effort tackles poverty reduction, universal primary education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases and environmental sustainability—while establishing a global partnership for development. Development is a task that is shared between the European Union and its Member States.
The EU's Development Directorate General (DG) has as its mandate to enhance EU international aid policies in all developing countries worldwide. DG Development provides policy guidance on development policy and oversees the programming of aid in the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) countries and the EU's Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT). The Cotonou Agreement provides the framework for a 20-year partnership for development aid to 77 ACP countries, funded mainly by the European Development Fund.
EU specialized programs include the clearing of landmines in an attempt to eradicate the suffering of thousands of victims every year and enable countries to escape the confines of post-conflict poverty and chaos.
The Role of the Delegation of the European Commission in Washington
The Delegation in Washington serves as liaison between the European Union and the United States in the development assistance area, covering cooperation with US Government agencies such as the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), international financial institutions such as the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a broad range of Washington-based NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and think-tanks. The Delegation facilitates this work by providing information from both sides of the Atlantic, helping to identify areas of common interest and organizing official visits from the European Commission's Brussels headquarters.
European Commission Delegation, Washington, DC, Staff
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