WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2865/97 by Thomas MEGAHY to the Council. Aid to developing countries
Date: 1997-09-13
Institutions: European Parliament, MEGAHY
Subjects: Development Assistance Committee, EU aid, European Development Fund, OECD, competence of the Member States, developing countries, development aid, poverty, sustainable development

C 117/86

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16. 4. 98

(98/C 117/106)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2865/97

by Thomas Megahy (PSE) to the Council

(13 September 1997)

Subject: Aid to developing countries

Following findings by UNICEF that aid from industrialized nations to developing countries has fallen to an all
time low, will the Council consider reaching an agreement to increase such aid from the Member States whilst at
the same time reviewing its effectiveness and encouraging mutually beneficial trade?

Answer

(26 November 1997)

The Honourable Member(cid:146)s attention is drawn first of all to the fact that aid from Member States of the European
Union for developing countries is entirely a matter within their own competence.

The most recent figures supplied by the OECD concerning development aid from the industralized countries
meeting within the Development Aid Committee (DAC), which relate to 1995, show that contributions by the
Member  States  of  the  European  Union  amounted  to  26  910  billion  dollars,  exceeding  by  a  large  margin  the
contributions of other major donors such as the United States (7.4 billion dollars) and Japan (14.5 billion dollars).
Adding the share of development aid financed by the European Community and the EDF, this aid amounts to
31 411 billion dollars, which represents 53.5% of the development aid given by all the industralized countries. 
Furthermore, since 1990 combined aid from the Member States and the Community has risen both in absolute
figures (from 25 to 31 411 billion dollars) and in percentage terms (from under 50% to 53.5%].

With  regard  to  the  European  Community(cid:146)s  policy  objectives  in  the  field  of  development  cooperation,
Article  130u  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  lays  down  as  objectives  the  campaign  against  poverty,  the
sustainable economic and social development of the developing countries and the integration of those countries
into the world economy.

Concerning the effectiveness of Community aid, it should be noted that, further to the (Development) Council(cid:146)s
statement of 25 November 1994 and in accordance with the detailed arrangements it set out on 1 June 1995, a full,
in-depth evaluation exercise is currently taking place of the programmes and instruments of Community aid,
aimed  at  making  an  assessment  of  results  in  the  light  of  its  objectives  and  at  drawing  lessions  from  past
experience.    The  first  phase  ((cid:147)desk  phase(cid:148))  of  the  evaluations  of  the  ALA  and  MED  programmes  and  of
cooperation  with  the  ACP  countries  has  been  completed,  and  the  second  phase,  consisting  of  on-the-ground
missions,  has  begun.    The  overall  summary  report  covering  the  whole  exercise  will  be  drawn  up  by  the
Commission and is expected for the second half of 1998.

(98/C 117/107)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2866/97

by Thomas Megahy (PSE) to the Commission

(11 September 1997)

Subject: A serious human rights abuse by the Israeli government

Israel is in the process of introducing legislation preventing Palestinians from seeking compensation through its
courts from Israeli security forces or the state for injury or death. This law is clearly racially discriminatory, as it
does not apply to Israeli or foreign residents, and has been condemned as such not only by Palestinian authorities
but by the independent Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.

Will the Commission raise this matter in its trade negotiations with the government of Israel or its agents, or take
some  other  form  of  action  to  demonstrate  that  such  laws  are  unacceptable  to  the  European  Union  as  an
association of democratic nations?