This year’s European Development Days are a key opportunity for the aid community to come together and reflect on the future of international development post-2015 and — in the words of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso — “a future that must provide for a decent life for all.”
“The Millennium Development Goals have had a huge impact on reducing poverty,” he said during an exclusive interview with Devex Associate Editor Richard Jones. “Yet much still needs to be done and this cannot be business as usual — the world has changed and with these changes come new challenges.”
Barroso explained the bloc is confident that a “limited and ambitious set of new goals and targets” for all countries “is the right way [to move] forward” after the MDGs expire in two years, both to eradicate poverty and boost sustainable development.