Accra, April 8, GNA - Official Development Aid spent by the European Union (EU) rose by about 804.5 billion from 2009, reaching a total of 8053.8 billion in 2010, Mr Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development, said in a statement released in Accra on Friday. He said this confirmed the EU's position as 93the largest and most generous donor" of official development assistance, providing more than half of global official aid.

Mr Piebalgs said although the EU missed its target for 2010, it still made positive progress despite the economic downturn. He said three of the five largest donors worldwide - France, Germany and the United Kingdom. France, Germany and the United Kingdom - are EU members and four of them - Sweden, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark - had already reached the 0.7% target. Overall, EU aid represents 0.43% of EU Gross National Income. Altogether nine Member States were above the minimum targets set for EU Member States for 2010: Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Finland, Ireland and Cyprus. Mr Piebalgs said a substantial collective effort was still needed in order to achieve the goal of 0.7% by 2015, to which Member States had been committed.

"In 2010, the EU remains by far the leading donor worldwide. However, aid budgets still represent less than 1% of national GNI. They must be increased if we are to meet our ambitious goals for 2015 and remain credible. This is a collective effort and we need all players to contribute their fair share. Aid is a smart investment in the future. Promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development in partner countries is in our mutual interest" said Piebalgs. "But efficient aid is not only about money. We must also improve the delivery and quality of the aid we provide. Later this year, I will put proposals on the table regarding the clearer focus of the future of development policy, better cooperation, and a higher impact on the ground."

He said in 2009, budgetary constraints weighed heavily on aid and many donors, including several EU Member States, decreased their spending on official development assistance (ODA), which resulted in a total of 8049 billion or 0.42% of Gross National Income (GNI) for the Union in 2009.

"In 2010, 17 Member States increased aid volumes again, thus reversing the trend of the previous year. Expressed as a share of GNI and in total terms, 2010 consequently saw the highest amount of ODA ever spent by Europe: 8053.8 billion (0.43% of GNI).

"Still, this falls far short of the commitments made by the EU, which had pledged to achieve 0.56% of GNI collectively for 2010. In absolute terms, EU spending stayed 8014.5 billion below this commitment. Ten Member States spent less on ODA than in 2009." The Commission commended the countries that had continued to increase their aid.

In 2005, EU Member States pledged to increase Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015.

In 2010, they promised to collectively reach 0.56% of ODA/GNI. The 2010 target was based on individual targets of 0.51% ODA/GNI for the EU 15 and 0.17% GNI for the 12 Member States which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007. No other donors have made such a significant commitment to increasing aid.