Europe bashed for failing aid targets

The European Union is risking embarrassment on the global stage for falling €75 billion short of its promised target to help the poorest nations by the end of this decade, according to a report by a coalition of anti-poverty groups.

The study to be presented on Thursday (22 May) by leading aid NGOs, such as Oxfam International, ActionAid and CARE International, suggests that figures provided by national capitals in recent years were "distorted and over-flattering," according to the AP news agency.

"The official figures still fail to provide citizens with a true picture of their government's contribution," write the authors of the paper, adding that the EU's member states spent around €8 billion in what aid groups consider to be non-aid items.

The major part of that sum - €5 billion - was not actually spent but written off from the debt of poor countries. Other areas not considered by anti-poverty groups as worth being called "development aid" include payments for housing of refugee applicants in Europe.

France, Germany, Greece, Austria, Italy and Portugal are singled out as the countries with the clearest tendency last year of inflating official figures for assistance.

The activists argue that the only way the 27-strong bloc can avoid losing credibility among its own citizens and developing nations is by signing up to a rigorous annual timetable to meet agreed goals.

Last month, the European Commission made a similar appeal after an analysis produced by the OECD, a Paris-based think-tank for the world's 31 richest countries, highlighted a rising gap between earlier commitments and actual aid delivery.

In 2007, the EU alone provided less assistance than the previous year, slipping the target for annual increases for the first time since it committed to a more ambitious plan in 2000. The topic is set to feature at a meeting of foreign ministers next week.