If she had her time again, the outgoing boss of the European Commission’s development department says she would focus more on telling people in Africa how much the European Union and its member states give in foreign aid.
Jutta Urpilainen said in a video interview with the Center for Global Development think tank, released on Oct. 9, that communication was a challenge from the beginning of her mandate in 2019.
“Taking into account how much funding we provide to our partners in the Global South, and the fact that we are still the biggest [official development assistance] provider in the world, I think we have not been able to communicate about it enough — or I would say, so strongly, as I hoped,” she said.