• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • European Union

    After COVID-19, European Commission pushes for more foreign aid

    The EU plan won praise from aid supporters for proposing a more ambitious external budget for the next seven years.

    By Vince Chadwick // 28 May 2020
    Despite fears that the pandemic could spark cuts to foreign aid, the European Commission is proposing an increase to its budget. Photo by: LIBER Europe / CC BY

    BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Wednesday proposed an additional €16.5 billion ($18.2 billion) for the European Union’s foreign spending as part of its COVID-19 recovery package, sparking relief among NGOs that had feared further cuts.

    The proposal, which must still be approved by EU states, would allocate €86 billion to the bloc’s main development instrument for 2021-2027, up 8.6% from the commission’s first outline in 2018. The increase is even greater when compared with the latest numbers proposed at a meeting of heads of state in February, where the instrument was down to €75.5 billion.

    EU rejigs over €15B in existing aid for coronavirus response

    Brussels is changing its priorities to address COVID-19, but not the amount it gives to each country. Reactions from nonprofits and U.N. agencies are mixed, although many are urging more ambitious, fresh funding.

    The additional resources would be mostly drawn from a €750 billion recovery fund, also announced Wednesday, to be raised by borrowing on financial markets. Most of the money from that fund will go to grants and loans designed to support EU priorities at home, such as the green and digital transitions. But €5 billion of it will be earmarked for humanitarian aid and €10.5 billion will go to development cooperation. The remaining €1 billion in the €16.5 billion foreign spending increase will go toward budget guarantees under the current European Fund for Sustainable Development.

    Wednesday’s commission document pointed to the fledgling system of the commission using the EU budget to partially cover investors’ losses in development-friendly projects. It says this work — particularly in the Western Balkans, countries neighboring the EU, and Africa — would aid efforts to fight and recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It was not immediately clear how much of the €10.5 billion from the recovery fund would be used for guarantees, with more detail expected in the coming days.

    “The fact that it is linked to the budget guarantees targeting the private sector raises concerns … but for now we remain positive.”

    — Jeroen Kwakkenbos, senior aid policy and development finance adviser, Oxfam EU

    The plan for increased spending was welcomed by aid supporters.

    Asked to rate the European NGO confederation CONCORD’s satisfaction with the proposal, Zuzana Sládková, the group’s policy and advocacy coordinator on financing and funding for sustainable development, told Devex that “we’re almost even 11 out of 10.”

    Jeroen Kwakkenbos, senior aid policy and development finance adviser at Oxfam’s EU office, said by email that the EU is making a stand for development at a moment when “the knee jerk reaction would be to cut these budget lines.”

    For Kwakkenbos, the issue now is ensuring that the extra money goes to more resources for public health, education, and investment in human development.

    “The fact that it is linked to the budget guarantees targeting the private sector raises concerns that it could end up as a back door subsidy to European companies, but for now we remain positive and hope that Europe can lead the way,” Kwakkenbos added.

    Tomas Tobé, the center-right Swedish chair of the European Parliament’s development committee, told Devex he welcomed “the additional guarantee funding aimed at boosting investment in vaccinations, treatments and diagnostics and [countering] the social and economic consequences of the pandemic.”

    Stefano Manservisi, former director-general of the European Commission’s development department and now a distinguished nonresident fellow at the Center for Global Development, told Devex that the funding boost was not a given in the current climate.

    “Clearly, the risk was to send a message — ‘Well, we take care of ourselves first, and then we see about the others,’” he said, adding that the proposal to increase development spending from the EU’s recovery fund is “politically and symbolically very important.”

    Leaders of EU countries will discuss the proposal on June 18, with the commission calling for a deal by July.

    • Funding
    • Trade & Policy
    • EC
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Vince Chadwick

      Vince Chadwickvchadw

      Vince Chadwick is a contributing reporter at Devex. A law graduate from Melbourne, Australia, he was social affairs reporter for The Age newspaper, before covering breaking news, the arts, and public policy across Europe, including as a reporter and editor at POLITICO Europe. He was long-listed for International Journalist of the Year at the 2023 One World Media Awards.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    European UnionRevealed: EU plan to merge aid funds raises fears of potential cuts

    Revealed: EU plan to merge aid funds raises fears of potential cuts

    European UnionEurope is cutting development spending, and it's not because of Trump

    Europe is cutting development spending, and it's not because of Trump

    European UnionOpinion: Amid US fallout, time for the EU to step up assistance to Ukraine

    Opinion: Amid US fallout, time for the EU to step up assistance to Ukraine

    European UnionUS Paris pullout ‘good’ for European firms, says EU development chief

    US Paris pullout ‘good’ for European firms, says EU development chief

    Most Read

    • 1
      How low-emissions livestock are transforming dairy farming in Africa
    • 2
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 3
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 4
      How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs
    • 5
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement