EU Development Co-operation Ministers Discussed Efficiency of Aid and Fulfilment of UN Millennium Development Goals
18.02.2010
Nr 54–E
An informal council of co-operation development ministers took place in Segovia, Spain from 17-18 February. The Estonian delegation was led by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary for Economic and Development Affairs Marina Kaljurand.
Topics discussed at the meeting were matters related to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals, efficient aid and avoiding fragmented aid, implementing good standards of government for taxation in partner states, and transatlantic co-operation with the USA. Dr. Rajiv Shah, director of the US development co-operation agency USAID, also participated in the meeting. They also discussed matters related to the Haiti humanitarian disaster.
At the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 the Millennium Development Goals were approved, which set concrete goals for reducing poverty by the year 2015. In September of this year a high-level UN meeting will once again take place in New York to assess the progress being made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The ministers’ discussions were part of the EU’s preparations for the autumn meeting.
Making aid more efficient and improving the division of labour among member states is necessary to achieve better results in development co-operation. At the moment the EU’s aid is fragmented and some member states are reducing the number of projects in developing nations. Undersecretary Kaljurand stated that Estonia focuses its bilateral development co-operation on nations that have a concrete need for Estonia’s aid and where providing aid gives clear added value. “Estonia also looks for co-operation opportunities with other financers in development co-operation,” she added.
Co-operation between the European Union and the United States in the development co-operation realm was also discussed. Kaljurand stated that Estonia considers a comprehensive strategic transatlantic dialogue on development policy to be very important. “The Millennium Development Goals are a global challenge, and the co-operation between the European Union and the United States for achieving these goals should be widespread, not focused on one concrete region,” said Kaljurand. In its co-operation with the USA, Estonia is looking for opportunities to work together in Afghanistan and in the EU’s close neighbourhood.
