EU development aid falls due to economic crisis

In 2012, the EU collective Official Development Aid (ODA) decreased to 55.2 billion euro from 56.2 billion euro in 2011, or from 0.45pct to 0.43pct of EU gross national income (GNI), the EU Foreign Affairs Council announced here Tuesday. The Council which is discussing development aid issues in its meeting today said the drop was due to continued budgetary constraints owing to the on-going crisis. The Council statement said that without substantial additional efforts by most EU Member States to fulfill their individual commitments, the EU Member States\' ODA would increase only to 0.43pct of GNI by 2015. To reach the collective EU target of 0.7pct of GNI by 2015, the EU and its Member States would need to mobilise an additional amount of approximately 46. 8 billion euro, it noted.