WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1611/96 by Richard HOWITT to the Commission. Public support in the EU for aid and development
Date: 1996-06-24
Institutions: European Parliament, HOWITT
Subjects: EU relations, North-South relations, developing countries, development aid, dissemination of information, economic consequence, industrialised country













EUR-Lex - 91996E1611 - EN






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91996E1611

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1611/96 by Richard HOWITT to the Commission. Public support in the EU for aid and development  


Official Journal C 322 , 28/10/1996 P. 0091 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1611/96 by Richard Howitt (PSE) to the Commission (24 June 1996)Subject: Public support in the EU for aid and developmentIs the Commission aware of the relative support of public opinion in the various Member States towards the provision of development aid to less developed countries, and how this is changing over time?What is the relative support for bilateral aid by the Member States vis-à-vis multilateral aid provided by the EU itself?Is the Commission aware of similar public opinion survey findings concerning the objectives of development policy?Does the Commission plan any initiatives in this respect?Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (11 July 1996)The Eurobarometer results on the way Europeans perceived developing countries in 1995 showed that 77.4% of Europeans are in favour of development aid. This represents a 3.7 points decline of the concern European citizens attach to aid to developing countries between 1991 and 1995. The Commission presented the results of this public opinion survey at a press conference on 21 May 1996. More detailed results concerning individual Member States are available and could be forwarded to the Honourable Member on request.Survey results in the United Kingdom showed, after a peak of 85% of support in 1991 for British bilateral aid, results in 1992 with 75% of support, and public support trends for development aid tending to come closer to those in years 1988 and 1989, respectively set at 71 and 72%. These are the only non-Commission results of which the Commission is aware in Member States.The same Eurobarometer survey confirms that development aid is perceived as a prime area for Community involvement. Indeed, when presented with a list of ten proposals for policy actions and asked whether it was preferable that decisions on this issue are made together by the Member States acting together, European citizens rank development aid fourth out of the ten priority areas proposed. Finally, the same study shows that the Community action in the field of development suffers from low visibility.In order to remedy this situation, the Commission has launched recently an information plan on Community cooperation for development. This plan aims to show Europeans how their own daily problems such as unemployment, environment, health, security are closely linked with the insufficient level of development of a major part in our planet. Indeed it is clear that not only the environmental, but also the social, cultural and political sustainability of development affects the well-being of people and the functioning of the complex, interdependent global system now emerging. It explains also the vital interests of the donor community, namely humanitarian, enlightened self-interest. Finally industrial countries benefit from expanded markets and the solidarity of all peoples.