The European Union and its Member States have kept their place as the world’s largest aid donor in 2014. They provided more than half of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) reported last year to the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD/DAC). This is demonstrated by data published today by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).
The new figures show that EU collective ODA (EU institutions and Member States) has increased to EUR 58.2 billion (up 2.4% from 2013) – growing for the second year in a row and reaching its highest nominal level to date. EU collective ODA represented 0.42% of EU Gross National Income (GNI) in 2014, a marginal decline (-0.0085%) from 0.43% in 2013 – due to changes in the way GNI was calculated by most Member States – but significantly higher than for other OECD donors whose ODA averaged 0.28% of GNI. Without the change in GNI methodology, EU collective ODA in 2014 would have reached 0.44% of EU GNI.
EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, commented: “I am proud that the EU has upheld its place as the world’s leading provider of ODA in recent years, despite the difficult economic situation. But we are still some way from meeting our ambitious targets.
2015 is a crucial year for the future of sustainable development, with negotiations on the post-2015 agenda and financing for development set to conclude. I firmly believe that we should recommit to reaching the 0.7% target as a crucial contribution to securing an ambitious outcome to the post-2015 negotiations.”
In 2005, the EU and its Member States pledged to increase their collective ODA to 0.7% of EU GNI by 2015. The European Council confirmed in June 2014 that this remains a key priority, in support of achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Despite a real growth in EU ODA of almost 50% since 2002, the EU is off track to meet this target by the end of 2015.
In 2014, 11 Member States increased and 1 maintained their ODA/GNI levels. The highest increases in ODA/GNI ratio have been in Croatia (0.07% to 0.11%), Finland (0.54% to 0.60%), Germany (0.38% to 0.41%), Luxembourg (1.0% to 1.07%), Romania (0.07% to 0.10%) and Sweden (1.01% to 1.10%).
Four EU Member States exceeded the 0.7% ODA/GNI mark: Sweden (1.10%), Luxembourg (1.07%), Denmark (0.85%),and the United Kingdom (0.71%).
ODA/GNI ratio saw a decline in France (0.41% to 0.36%), Ireland (0.46% to 0.38%), the Netherlands (0.67% to 0.64%), Portugal (0.23% to 0.19%), and Spain (0.17% to 0.14%) and in 11 other EU Member States.
In total, 15 Member States[1] increased their ODA nominally by €3.4 billion, while the decreases in the 13 others amounted to €1.3 billion. Meaning a net increase in ODA of 2.1 billion euros.
