The danger of using EU aid to subsidise private finance

The EU is gearing up to increase the involvement of the private sector in development aid - both as beneficiaries as well as financiers.

This would happen through "blending" mechanisms, which link official development assistance (ODA) with loans from public institutions or commercial lenders to finance projects in partner countries.

Months of research into the EU’s blending mechanisms have shown that the focus is not always kept on development. The jury is out on whether blendin...