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EU to make billion-euro offer at UN development summit

Other News Materials 20 September 2010 16:50 (UTC +04:00)
The European Union's executive is to offer the neediest developing countries 1 billion euros (1.3 billion dollars) in extra development aid at this week's summit in New York.
EU to make billion-euro offer at UN development summit

The European Union's executive is to offer the neediest developing countries 1 billion euros (1.3 billion dollars) in extra development aid at this week's summit in New York, officials in Brussels confirmed Monday.

Wealthy nations, including EU member states, have pledged to increase development spending significantly by 2015 as part of the so-called Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But they have so far fallen short of their targets, DPA reported.

The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, is to offer the extra funding at the summit to developing states that need increased support and can put in place realistic development plans, commission officials said.

The money is to come from unspent funds in the European Development Fund, the EU's main centralized development funding instrument, officials said.

EU states and partner countries in the developing world will need to approve the offer for the funds to start flowing.

The MDGs cover eight aspects of development, ranging from providing drinking water and sanitation to reducing child and childbirth mortality.

Progress on some of the goals, such as the provision of drinking water, has been substantial, but progress on others - notably the mother and child mortality targets - has been minimal.

The summit is meant to give a new political boost to the development agenda ahead of the 2015 deadline.

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