2 A twelve-point EU action plan in support
of the MDGs
| (31519)
8910/10
+ ADDs 1-5
COM(10) 159
| Commission Communication: A twelve-point EU action plan in support of the Millennium Development Goals
|
| Legal base | —
|
| Document originated | 24 April 2010
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 10 May 2010
|
| Department | International Development
|
| Basis of consideration | EM of 7 June 2010
|
| Previous Committee Report | None
|
| To be discussed in Council | 14-15 June 2010 "Development" Foreign Affairs Council
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Not cleared; for debate in European Committee B
|
Background
2.1 The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to
be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development
challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained
in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations,
and signed by 147 heads of state and governments, during the UN
Millennium Summit in September 2000.[4]
The eight MDGs were broken down into 21 quantifiable targets that
are measured by 60 indicators.[5]
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
The Commission Communication
2.2 The Commission describes the MDGs as "the
first ever set of shared development goals at international level",
and as "having contributed to build an unprecedented level
of consensus [which] should continue to guide and mobilise international
support [and which] emphasise the importance of a Human Rights
based approach to development." They note that:
"with only five years remaining before the agreed
2015 deadline, world leaders will gather in New York on 20-22
September 2010 for the UN MDG Review High Level Plenary Meeting
(HLPM). Their aim is to ensure a comprehensive review of successes
and gaps, and agree on concrete action to speed up progress."[6]
2.3 The Commission describes the present situation
as patchy. Progress has varied greatly both between MDGs and between
regions, with economic growth, good governance and quality of
domestic policies as key variables for progress. Globally, there
has been strong and sustained progress in reducing extreme poverty
as well as on other goals such as universal primary education,
gender equality in primary education and access to water.
"But, around 1.4 billion people still live in
extreme poverty (51% of them in Sub-Saharan Africa) and one sixth
of the world's population is undernourished. There has been almost
no progress in reducing maternal and child mortality and prospects
for access to sanitation are also bleak."
2.4 Against this background, the Commission sets
out its Action Plan, with a number of specific medium-term actions
in support of the MDGs. The EU action plan is intended to:
— constitute
a unified EU contribution to a UN action oriented outcome on MDGs
for 2010-2015;
— provide
a basis for outreach and dialogue, before and beyond the HLPM,
with key and strategic partners, whether in the G8/G20 context,
or in fora such as the Asia-Europe Development Conference Meeting
(26-27 May 2010), the EU — LAC Summit (18 May 2010), and
the 3rd Africa-EU
Summit (29-30 November 2010); and
— feed
into the Europe 2020 strategy.
2.5 The Commission notes the EU's singular position,
as collectively by far the biggest donor — almost 56% of
global Official Development Assistance (ODA), almost doubled since
the adoption of the MDGs, now amounting to €49 billion. In
2008, it decreased, but was still 0.42% of EU GNI.
"Nevertheless, the EU is behind the schedule
to reach the collective EU intermediate target of 0.56% of GNI
by 2010, as a step towards devoting by 2015 0.7% of GNI to ODA.
"Back-loading aid increases would mean back-loading
progress on the MDGs. In the current financial and economic crisis,
it may not be easy to keep our collective promises to devote 0.7%
of our GNI to ODA by 2015, and to direct 50% of the ODA increase
to Africa, but it is still feasible and necessary. It is a question
of foresight and political will. All donors need to contribute
to the common goal on the basis of fair global and EU internal
burden-sharing. At the UN HLPM, the EU needs to show how it will
keep its promises, proving that developing countries can trust
us. This includes tackling new global challenges by providing
financing from resources additional to ODA."
2.6 As well as honouring EU aid commitments, the
Commission proposes 12 actions, the main ones being:
IMPROVING AID EFFECTIVENESS
The Commission notes estimated annual efficiency
gains of between €3-6 billion if the EU and Member States
were to implement better the aid effectiveness principles agreed
in the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action. The
EU has to step up implementation of these commitments in order
to show concrete results ahead of the fourth High Level Forum
on Aid Effectiveness in Seoul in 2011. Coordinating European actions
upstream has more impact than taking corrective measures downstream.
The Commission proposes concrete steps to improve national and
EU planning cycles and the EU Division of Labour.
TARGETING THE MOST OFF-TRACK MDGS
The EU should pay particular attention to the goals
furthest from being achieved. Action must be prioritised in countries
where most progress is to be made. Targeted interventions should
focus on the most vulnerable, including women, children and people
with disabilities. Fragile states have made considerably less
progress towards the MDGs than other developing countries; donors
should do more and in a more coordinated way in fragile states.
The EU and Member States should always use as a first
option partner countries' own strategies and systems in order
to strengthen country ownership. This should preferably be done
through Budget Support and MDG Contract type of programmes. In
education and health, concentrate EU and Member States action
in those countries where need is greatest and sustainable policies
can be supported; the list of priority countries will be prepared
ahead of the High Level Plenary Meeting (HLPM) in September; enhance
policy coherence and further EU political and financial involvement
in the Global Fund to fight Aids Tuberculosis & Malaria and
the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation; increase support
for national education sector plans; and address all aspects of
food security.
FOSTERING OWNERSHIP IN MDGS IN PARTNER COUNTRIES
Continue to encourage and support country-led approaches
for deciding priority investments in support of MDGs, and promote
the inclusion of MDG targets in developing countries own development
strategies. MDG ownership should be seen as part of the wider
governance commitments taken by partner countries, and part and
parcel of the EU dialogue with them. High quality statistical
data is crucial to monitor progress, accountability and rational
policies. The lack of reliable, accurate data to track MDG progress
is particularly acute in Africa.
POLICY COHERENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT
The PCD Work Programme
(see below) needs to be
used proactively and early to guide EU decision making.
MOBILISING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES' DOMESTIC RESOURCES
THROUGH BETTER TAXATION SYSTEMS
EU support for setting up sustainable fiscal and
customs systems should be strengthened, building capacity and
promoting good governance in tax matters.[7]
ENHANCING REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND TRADE TO BOOST
GROWTH
The EU should increase support to private sector
development via the ACP Investment Facility and the EU-Africa
Infrastructure Trust Fund; strengthen the capacity of the EIB
to support EU development objectives; persist in working for a
conclusion of the Doha Round; continue to work on tailored bilateral
and regional trade agreements, including Economic Partnership
Agreements; and advance further in the delivery of Aid for Trade.
2.7 The five accompanying Commission Staff Working
Papers aim to provide the analysis underpinning the actions suggested
in the action plan. They cover:
— Aid
for Trade;
— Financing
for Development;
— Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs);
— Aid
Effectiveness; and
— Policy
Coherence for Development.
AID FOR TRADE MONITORING REPORT 2010
This is the third progress report against the EU
Aid for Trade strategy of 2007. The Commission and EU Member States
pledged in 2005 to each increase Aid for Trade commitments to
€1 billion (£0.87 billion) a year by 2010. The report
shows that Member States and the Commission have hit this target
well in advance, reaching €2.15 billion (£1.87 billion)
in 2008, consisting of €1.143 billion (£0.995 billion)
from Member States and € 1.007 billion (£0.876 billion)
from the Commission. Building on this overall success, the Commission
calls for continued support for Aid for Trade. Specifically it
calls for increased Aid for Trade for the Least Developed Countries,
greater needs-based analysis and an expansion in the number of
countries in which EU joint Aid for Trade activities take place.
FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT — ANNUAL PROGRESS
REPORT 2010
This report monitors the EU's commitments on financing
for development, particularly Member State progress against their
ODA targets. The report also covers other financing issues such
as: improved revenue mobilisation by developing countries through
taxation and public financial management; remittances; innovative
sources; and strengthening global financial governance.
The Report notes that EU ODA continued to increase
as a share of Gross National Income (GNI), reaching 0.42% in 2009
from 0.40% in 2008. Due to economic contraction, however, the
total ODA volume decreased to €49 billion (£42 billion)
from €50 billion in 2008. The report reveals that the EU
will almost certainly miss its collective EU target to reach 0.56%
of GNI by 2010. According to the Commission the target of 0.7%
of GNI in 2015 is, however, still attainable with a fair internal
burden-sharing.
The UK remains on track to reach both the 2010 and
2015 targets. Four Member States are already in excess of 0.7%
and a further four are firmly on track to meet the targets. Various
other Member States (including Germany and Italy) have significantly
decreased their ODA/GNI since 2008 and are seriously off-track.
To ensure the 2015 target is met, the Commission proposes the
establishment of national annual delivery plans and the creation
of an EU internal annual ODA Peer Review.
PROGRESS MADE ON THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
AND KEY CHALLENGES FOR THE ROAD AHEAD
With five years to go until the MDGs target date,
this Staff Working Paper takes stock of what progress has been
made and identifies lessons learnt. While progress has been made
in some areas (e.g. on worldwide extreme poverty and enrolment
in primary education), progress has been highly uneven among regions,
countries and population groups. Some MDGs are also still severely
off-track at global level, especially maternal and child health,
and water and sanitation. The Commission points to economic growth,
country leadership, domestic policies, and ODA as crucial to success.
Other key challenges include the continuing effects
of the economic and financial crisis, mobilising the private sector,
focussing on the most off-track MDGs and countries and addressing
fragility and climate change.
AID EFFECTIVENESS — ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT
2010
This Staff Working Paper covers progress on commitments
to improve aid effectiveness established by the Paris Declaration
and the Accra Agenda for Action. It presents a mixed picture of
EU progress. While EU working methods and processes could be better
coordinated, the Commission acknowledges a genuine willingness
to improve the effectiveness of aid and can demonstrate some real
progress. It suggests that further progress could be made by joint
EU programming and a common European approach on improving the
transparency and accountability of aid.
POLICY COHERENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT WORK PROGRAMME
The Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) work programme
aims to translate the principle that non-development policies
should support, or at least not undermine, development policies
and it sets out practical steps to enhance the coherence of EU
policies. The work programme concentrates on actions in five areas:
Trade and finance; climate change; global food security; migration;
and security, in each of which individual targets and indicators
are identified.
The Government's view
2.8 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 7 June 2010,
the Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew
Mitchell) says that this "broad" Communication "supports
an action-oriented EU position for the MDG Summit in September".
He regards the most important ideas as "the introduction
of an internal EU peer review mechanism on ODA delivery, consisting
of national annual ODA action plans, regular discussions among
Member States in the Council and reports on ODA delivery to the
European Council." This, he says, is welcome, "as it
aims to secure EU ODA delivery despite the challenging fiscal
situation in Europe." Stating that the UK is "on track
to meet its 2010 and 2015 ODA targets", the Secretary of
State "would like to see other Member States meeting theirs."
2.9 The Secretary of State also notes that the Communication
also sets out a number of actions to target countries and MDGs
that are most off-track. He highlights the Commission proposal
to re-allocate funds from the European Development Fund (EDF)
to off-track countries in the framework of the 2010 mid-term review
of ACP programmes, and describes the actions proposed in order
to support individual off-track MDGs (including child and maternal
health, education) as "not very specific at this stage."
2.10 The Secretary of State then comments on the
supporting Commission Staff Working Documents as follows:
AID FOR TRADE MONITORING REPORT 2010 (SEC 2010 419
FINAL):
"The UK welcomes the Commission's support for
a stronger focus on Least Developed Countries, regional approaches
and improved Aid for Trade (AFT) effectiveness in particular.
The report identifies the key AFT challenges over the next few
years such as (1) raising further awareness about what the AFT concept
means in practice, (2) maintaining support for AFT flows in the
absence of any current targets and ensuring that spending results
in real change on the ground through, (3) aid effective approaches,
(4) poverty and gender targeting, (5) effective monitoring and
evaluation. The Commission does not indicate however how it will
work with EU partners to develop a leadership role in tackling
these challenges.
FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT — ANNUAL PROGRESS
REPORT 2010 (SEC 2010 420 FINAL):
"This Progress Report gives a clear picture
of EU delivery against targets. With only eight Member States
(including the UK) already meeting or being on track to meet the
EU ODA targets for 2010 and 2015, the Report recognises that the
EU is in danger of missing its collective ODA targets. It is welcome
that the Report calls on Member States to demonstrate their contribution
to the EU ODA targets and the need for a fairer burden sharing
internally and internationally.
"The UK remains committed to provide 0.56% of
GNI as ODA in 2010, and to reach 0.7% by 2013 and will continue
to press other donors to meet their commitments. This will be
a key issue at the June European Council, in the G8 and in the
preparation for the MDG Summit in New York in September 2010.
PROGRESS MADE ON THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
AND KEY CHALLENGES FOR THE ROAD AHEAD (SEC 2010 418 FINAL):
"The Staff Working Paper provides a useful assessment
of the current status of the MDGs. The Government shares the Commission's
analysis in most respects and agrees that economic growth, country
leadership, domestic policies, and ODA are crucial elements to
attain the MDGs. The UK will work with other Member States to
make sure that the EU assumes real leadership for attaining the
MDGs. In this regard, the Government will work towards more specific
EU commitments for tackling the off-track MDGs (health and education)
in particular.
AID EFFECTIVENESS — ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT
2010 (SEC 2010 422 FINAL):
"The UK is convinced that there is a strong
need to improve aid effectiveness and to meet the respective Paris
and Accra targets. This is particularly true under the current
fiscal circumstances in Europe. We therefore welcome the comprehensive
aid effectiveness agenda of the EU. We particularly support the
Commission's recommendation on developing a Chapter on mutual
accountability and transparency for the EU Operational Framework
on aid effectiveness. We also welcome the reference to the International
Aid transparency Initiative (IATI), which has the aim to make
aid more transparent.
"We also support the Commission's initiative
on cross-country division of labour. The UK's newly launched Bilateral
Aid Review will aim to improve the effectiveness of our aid, taking
into account the activities of EU and other donors.
POLICY COHERENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT WORK PROGRAMME 2010-2013
(SEC 2010 421 FINAL):
"The EU is in a unique position to be able to
strengthen policy coherence for development (PCD), and should
showcase that it is possible to the rest of the world. The UK
therefore strongly supports the Commission's efforts to strengthen
PCD and welcome its ambition to focus on specific areas, trying
to identify specific actions. The UK will work with the Commission
in making these actions more concrete and ambitious in particular
in areas such as the common agricultural and the common fisheries
policy."
2.11 The Secretary of State goes on to note that,
although there has been no external consultation on these documents,
there is regular discussion with the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office, HM Treasury and Cabinet Office on these issues.
2.12 Finally, the Secretary of State says that these
documents will be on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council
on the 14-15 June.
2.13 On 14 June, the Council subsequently endorsed
16 pages of Conclusions, which it says constitute the EU position
on the MDGs with a view to the UN General Assembly High-Level
Plenary Meeting and in which it says the Commission Communication
"has provided essential guidance." The Council says
that the EU remains firmly committed to support the achievement
of the MDGs globally by 2015, which it says "is still possible,
if all partners in the international community demonstrate strong
political commitment, implement necessary policy changes and take
concrete action." It agrees that progress has been uneven
and that "considerable work remains to be done prioritising
MDGs most off-track, notably in the regions and countries most
lagging behind, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Least
Developed Countries (LDCs)". With countries in situations
of conflict and fragility needing special attention." It
sees progress as depending "to a great extent on the quality
and coherence of development partners policies [and] remains convinced
that the MDGs are interlinked, mutually dependent and reinforcing
and therefore require a holistic, rights-based approach which
takes into account local contexts". It underlines "the
interdependence of the MDGs with human rights, gender equality,
democracy, good governance, development, peace and security, as
well as climate and energy [and] also underlines the important
role of non-development policies in achieving the MDGs."
Overall, the Council "strongly favours a concrete and action-oriented
outcome of the HLPM", and to this effect, proposes a number
of concrete actions and policies.[8]
Conclusion
2.14 Although we have no concerns over the documents
per se, we think that the importance of the issues they
cover and of the 20-22 September 2010 UN MDG Review High Level
Plenary Meeting (HLPM), for which they are intended to prepare
the world's foremost providers of development assistance, warrant
their being debated in European Committee B.
2.15 We so recommend. In the meantime, the documents
remain under scrutiny.
Annex: The MDG Targets and Indicators
| Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
|
| Goals and Targets (from the Millennium Declaration)
| Indicators for monitoring progress
|
| Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
|
| Target 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than less than one dollar a day
| 1. Proportion of population below $1 (PPP) per day
2. Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty]
3. Share of poorest quintile in national consumption
|
| Target 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
| 4. Prevalence of underweight children under-five years of age
5. Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption
|
| Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
|
| Target 3: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling
| 6. Net enrolment ratio in primary education
7. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5b
8. Literacy rate of 15-24 year-olds
|
| Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
|
| Target 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015
| 9. Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education
10. Ratio of literate women to men, 15-24 years old
11. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector
12. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament
|
| Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
|
| Target 5: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
| 13. Under-five mortality rate
14. Infant mortality rate
15. Proportion of 1 year-old children immunised against measles
|
| Goal 5: Improve maternal health
|
| Target 6: Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
| 16. Maternal mortality ratio
17. Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
|
| Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
|
| Target 7: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
| 18. HIV prevalence among pregnant women aged 15-24 years
19. Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence rate
19a. Condom use at last high-risk sex
19b. Percentage of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS
19c. Contraceptive prevalence rate
20. Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans aged 10-14 years
|
| Target 8: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
| 21. Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria
22. Proportion of population in malaria-risk areas using effective malaria prevention and treatment measures
23. Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis
24. Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under directly observed treatment short course DOTS (Internationally recommended TB control strategy)
|
| Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
|
| Target 9: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources
| 25. Proportion of land area covered by forest
26. Ratio of area protected to maintain biological diversity to surface area
27. Energy use (kg oil equivalent) per $1 GDP (PPP)
28. Carbon dioxide emissions per capita and consumption of ozonedepleting CFCs (ODP tons)
29. Proportion of population using solid fuels
|
| Target 10: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
| 30. Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural
31. Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation, urban and rural
|
| Target 11: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers
| 32. Proportion of households with access to secure tenure
|
| Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
|
| Target 12: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction — both nationally and internationally
Target 13: Address the special needs of the least developed countries
Includes: tariff and quota free access for the least developed countries' exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction
Target 14: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly)
Target 15: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term
| Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.
Official development assistance (ODA)
33. Net ODA, total and to the least developed countries, as percentage of OECD/DAC donors' gross national income
34. Proportion of total bilateral, sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation)
35. Proportion of bilateral official development assistance of OECD/DAC donors that is untied
36. ODA received in landlocked developing countries as a proportion of their gross national incomes
37. ODA received in small island developing States as a proportion of their gross national incomes
Market access
38. Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and least developed countries, admitted free of duty
39. Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and textiles and clothing from developing countries
40. Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as a percentage of their gross domestic product
41. Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity
Debt sustainability
42. Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative)
43. Debt relief committed under HIPC Initiative
44. Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services
|
| Target 16: In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth
| 45. Unemployment rate of young people aged 15-24 years, each sex and total
|
| Target 17: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries
| 46. Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a sustainable basis
|
| Target 18: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications
| 47. Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population
48. Personal computers in use per 100 population Internet users per 100 population
|
4 See http://www.un.org/millennium/ for full information
on the Summit. Back
5
Set out at the annex to this chapter of our Report. Back
6
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to
attend a summit in New York on 20-22 September 2010 to boost progress
towards the MDGs. His report, "Keeping the Promise",
will serve as the basis for Member States' deliberations on "an
action-oriented outcome document for the Summit …. identifies
successes and gaps, and lays out an agenda for 2010-2015"
. See http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ for full background to
the HLPM. Back
7
The Commission has produced a separate Commission Communication
on this subject: see (31516) 8891/10 listed in chapter 81 of this
Report. Back
8
Available at http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/genaff/115157.pdf.
Back
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