News
Commissioner Piebalgs in Kenya to boost EU response to food insecurity in the region
30/04/2012
Tomorrow, Commissioner Piebalgs, will begin a two-day visit to Kenya during which he will he will address the issues related to food insecurity in Kenya and in the Horn of Africa region, which is often affected by recurrent drought. The Commissioner will present an EU initiative, called "Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience (SHARE)", which will help people in the Horn of Africa to recover from the recent drought and to strengthen their ability -and that of the regional economy- to better withstand future crises.
Statement of Commissioner Piebalgs on the International development Committee's report on EU development assistance
27/04/2012
"I take note with interest on the findings of the International Development Committee report on EU aid. I'm satisfied to note that it highlights the improvements we have made in our work; recognising that the 'Agenda for Change' - a new EU policy to focus our work on fewer sectors and direct more aid to the poorest countries where it can have the biggest impact - is helping to make our aid even more effective.
Winning the fight against malaria
25/04/2012
It is estimated that in 2010 there were 216 million cases of malaria, resulting in 655,000 deaths. 81% of these cases and 91% of deaths happened in Africa. Across the globe, 86% of victims were under 5 years old.
Thanks to the efforts of communities in affected areas and their international partners, malaria deaths have fallen by 25% since the year 2000. As the world’s largest donor of development assistance, the EU is at the forefront of ensuring that this progress continues. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for example, notable results have been achieved.
"EU aid delivers results" - Commissioners Georgieva and Piebalgs comment on the OECD Peer Review on EU development and humanitarian aid programmes
24/04/2012
We welcome the Peer Review report of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of the work of the European Union in development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.
The comprehensive report gives credit to the EU as a major global player in development cooperation and humanitarian assistance, based on the size, geographical reach and partnership dimension of its aid programmes. We are pleased to note that it recognises many of the EU’s strengths as well as its achievements since the last Peer Review of 2007, in its dual role of donor and 'federator' of EU Member States' policies and aid programmes.
Commissioner Piebalgs visits Côte d'Ivoire to relaunch political dialogue and reinforce European aid
19/04/2012
Commissioner Piebalgs visited Abidjan one year on from his first visit immediately after the end of the fighting. The Commissioner met President Alassane Ouattara and the Prime Minister, Jeannot Kouadio-Ahoussou, to relaunch the political dialogue and jointly identify priority sectors for cooperation. As well as discussing the challenges facing Côte d'Ivoire, the Commissioner raised a number of regional issues with President Ouattara, who is currently President of ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States). These included the situation in Mali and the Sahel region.
"Energising Development": Commission's new initiative to help achieve energy access for all by 2030
17/04/2012
Brussels, 16 April 2012 - A new EU energy initiative which will provide access to sustainable energy for an additional 500 million people in developing countries by 2030 was today announced by European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso. Speaking at the EU Sustainable Energy for All Summit in Brussels, the President unveiled this EU commitment in the framework of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4All) launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last year.
The Commission's proposals include a new EU Technical Assistance Facility worth €50 million over the next two years, which will support those developing partners that "opt in" to the initiative by providing EU expertise in the field; thereby promoting sustainable development and inclusive growth.
Statement by President Barroso at the press point with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon following the opening ceremony of the EU Sustainable Energy For all Summit Press point Brussels
16/04/2012
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to welcome the Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon to the European Commission today. We just opened the "EU Sustainable Energy for All Summit," and I am sure that throughout the day all participants will engage in a productive and substantial debate.
The "Sustainable Energy for all Summit" focused on an initiative of the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, and I really congratulate him for this initiative and his leadership. This "Sustainable Energy for All" focused on energy access, which is key for global development: today, while one part of the planet lives in the digital era and in the times of digital communication, the other part has still no access to basic electricity, power or energy.
Being in the dark every day is the tragic reality of 1.3 bn people in the world today. That is why I really applaud Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his most relevant "Sustainable Energy for All" initiative, in which the European Commission is strongly involved also through the very active participation of Commissioner Piebalgs.
We fully support the ambitious goals set forth by the Secretary General.
New partnership between EU and UN Women to enhance gender equality worldwide
16/04/2012
Brussels, 16 April 2012 - A new partnership between the EU and UN Women set up to strengthen cooperation between the two organizations on their work on empowering women and gender equality, was today signed by High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/ Vice President of the Commission Catherine Ashton and Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, with Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Michelle Bachelet.
The new Memorandum of Understanding signed on the margin of the EU Sustainable Energy for All Summit in Brussels, reaffirms the partnership between the two organisations to support gender equality and women’s empowerment around the world and ensures closer collaboration; sharing information, expertise and analysis in order to effectively advance women’s rights.
EU Sustainable Energy for All Summit to take place on Monday
13/04/2012
On 16 April 2012 the Commission and the Danish Presidency of the EU Council will host the EU Sustainable Energy for All Summit. This event will bring together high-level representatives from the EU, the UN, developing countries, industry and civil society organisations committed to achieving sustainable energy for all by 2030. This ambitious goal was set by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. To bring this initiative forward he has set up a High Level Group of which Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs is a member.
For more details, please visit: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/energy/sustainable/se4all_en.htm
Ahead of the "EU Sustainable Energy for All Summit", survey shows that nine out of ten Europeans think the EU should support developing countries in energy access
12/04/2012
A new survey revealed that 95% of Europeans think that access to energy is an important precondition for overcoming poverty in developing countries. In fact, nine out of ten EU citizens want the EU to help people in developing countries to gain access to energy.
In times of crisis, the EU must not forget the poorest in the world", says Commissioner Piebalgs. EU confirms its position as the world's largest aid donor in 2011
10/04/2012
With €53 billion of development aid in 2011, the European Union and its 27 Member States remains the world biggest donor, providing more than half of global official aid, preliminary figures on official development aid published by the OECD reveal. At a time of heavy budgetary constraints, 16 Member States managed to increase their aid, three of them are ranked among the five largest donors worldwide and four of them have already reached the target of spending 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI) on aid. EU official development aid reached 0.42% of EU GNI, which exceeds the efforts of other major donors. However, efforts are still needed to reach the agreed target of 0.7% EU GNI by 2015.
