A crossroads

Imagine an entire continent roiled by political unrest. Cultural and ethnic divisions brought to the fore by fiscal austerity and rampant unemployment. The rise of extremist political parties and the surreptitious influence of nefarious foreign powers.

You may be used to reading in these pages about such instability in the developing world. But I'm talking about Europe, of course.

And while news coverage of the continent's increasingly angry politics understandably focuses on the Athens-Berlin divide or the long arm of Russia meddling in European affairs, I want to remind development professionals that Europe — land of belt tightening, debt and joblessness — is also the world's largest foreign aid donor.

Europe, for all its problems, is of course rich. And it has close ties to former colonies, many of which are still struggling to pull themselves from poverty. But that hasn't stopped UKIP, the rising right-wing party of the United Kingdom, from declaring its intention to cut 9 billion pounds ($13.7 billion) from the foreign aid budget, which would amount to a slash of 75 percent.

Once-fringe parties — from both sides of the political spectrum — are gaining ground quickly across Europe. And in a world where Marine Le Pen can be a competitive candidate to lead a country as important to the future of Europe as France — the Front National leader beat incumbent François Hollande in a presidential poll last week — it is worth asking how the continent's historic commitment to global development will fare.

It may seem ironic, then, that 2015 has been declared the European Year of Development, the first time in 30 years that Europe has dedicated a year to something beyond its borders. Meant to coincide with the end of the Millennium Development Goals and the creation of a global framework to succeed them, Brussels is set to embark on a yearlong campaign to emphasize Europe's role as a global development leader.

To mark this occasion, Neven Mimica, the European commissioner for international cooperation and development, and Edgars Rinkēvičs, foreign minister of Latvia, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, penned a message to Devex members which was published today.

The ministers make the case you might expect: that foreign aid is in the best interests of EU citizens, from addressing the root causes of immigration to tackling climate change.  But left unsaid is what a cut to Europe's development commitment would mean.

At the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos recently, Italy's dynamic and blunt Prime Minister Matteo Renzi summed up the big challenge for his country and for Europe in one word: credibility. At a time when all three of the major opposition parties in Italy are against the European project — an idea that has held together a diverse continent once known for division and war — Renzi is right.

Europe has its troubles, that's true. But while abandoning its commitments to those truly struggling might temporarily ease some political pressure at home, a Europe that forgets its responsibilities to the poorest simply can't be credible as a force for good in the world. And, this year especially, it's worth pointing out that it would be a loss which can't be measured just in euros.

What’s your take on Europe’s role in international development cooperation? Join the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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