Europe cannot let the impact of the global economic downturn affect commitments to the Millennium Development Goals, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said Thursday at the European Development Days in Stockholm.
"We are serious about meeting the MDG targets," Barroso said Oct. 22 as he opened Europe's largest, three-day gathering of development leaders. "The economic crisis is in fact another reason to meet the targets, not another excuse to miss them."
He added that public support for development has remained unchanged in Europe despite the financial crisis.
"According to a recent survey, around 90 percent of people think this is an important issue," Barroso argued. "And we put our money where our mouth is."
