EU states spending development aid on themselves, report finds

The AidWatch report was drafted by Concord, a confederation of NGOs working on development assistance.

In a statement, Concord said such costs means many EU states are in the "peculiar position of being the primary recipients of their own aid."

This is specially the case of a number of eastern European countries, it found.

And it says a handful of EU states are using almost 50 percent or more of their reported official development aid (ODA) on themselves by including in-donor refugee costs.

Among those are Estonia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ireland and Poland, mostly due to funding to support refugees from Ukraine, says the study.

And Malta reported more than 80 percent of its ODA share as in-donor refugee costs, notes the report.

Not all EU states count in-donor refugee costs as a share of ODA. Luxembourg opted out. So too has Belgium, Hungary and Slovakia, says the report.

Specifically, the study found €13.9bn out of a total €84bn of ODA reported in 2022 by the 27 member states went to in-donor refugee costs.

"It's [in-donor refugee costs] actually not measuring really the effort of the country towards foreign countries," said Salvatore Nocerino, a policy advisor at Concord.

"Of course, it's necessary to pay support to asylum seekers and refugees, but this is just not the same thing as official development assistance. They need to be two separate things," he said.

Instead, Concord calls on ODA to support economic development and welfare, as well as reduce inequalities between and within countries.

These countries span low to middle income countries, and territories, as compiled by the OECD, a Paris-based international organisation.

But Concord says only 40 percent of ODA has actually reached the poorest 40 percent of countries. It says €20bn — more than €1 in every €5 — "is falsely claimed as aid, never reaching the communities it's meant to serve."

For its part, a European Commission spokesperson said in-donor refugee costs are ODA eligible within strict rules and limitations set by the OECD's DAC secretariat. And they say reporting is a matter for member states.

"The EU Institutions do not report any in-donor refugee costs. However, the EU's position has always been that in-donor refugee costs are an integral part of ODA and should be eligible, within agreed limits and definitions," said the spokesperson.