Commission adopts Annual Report on EU's development and external assistance policies

The European Commission has adopted its Annual Report 2013 on the EU's development and external assistance policies. Covering work done in 2012, the report gives a comprehensive overview of how the EU delivers on its development policy commitments, increasingly directing aid to where it is most needed and where it can have the greatest impact in terms of poverty reduction.

In 2012, the Commission committed almost €13.8 billion to external assistance, the equivalent of 9% of the EU budget. Among many other activities, the EU provided swift and decisive support in situations of crisis and fragility such as the drought in the Sahel and the conflicts in Syria and Mali. For example, the Commission launched, together with international partners, an initiative for the Sahel region to break the vicious cycle of drought, hunger and poverty. The AGIR (Alliance globale pour l'initiative Résilience – Sahel) initiative will, among other things, invest in healthcare and other social sectors, in the functioning of food markets and in empowering women, including those working in agriculture. The EU as a whole remains the world’s largest donor of official development assistance, collectively providing €55.2 billion in 2012. The report can be accessed here.

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