New EU members

Between 2004 and 2007, twelve new countries joined the EU: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

New EU donors

Once aid recipients, the new members have now emerged as donors, having collectively doubled - and in some cases tripled or quadrupled - their aid levels since joining the EU.

They have also pledged - under the Monterrey Consensus - to increase official development aid as a share of their gross national income (GNI) to:

0.17% of GNI by 2010, and
0.33% of GNI by 2015.

Experience as transition economies

These new donors will be able to play a significant role in the EU’s development strategy, thanks to their valuable practical experience in transitional economy and democratisation processes.

Benefiting from the EU's past experience, the new countries can already start using the most innovative development instruments, such as division of labour between donors.

And the EU is providing them with practical assistance to help them become more effective in development work.

Regionally focused aid

Traditionally, these countries focus their aid in their immediate neighbourhood:

Balkans
Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet Union countries),
Caucasus
Central Asia.

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