Meeting of the ministers for development cooperation at the Foreign Affairs Council will be held in Brussels on the 14 May, 2012. Hungary will be represented by Ambassador Péter Györkös, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the EU. The topics of the meeting are the future of the EU development policy, EU budget support to third countries, reflection on the EU’s collective development aid targets, Burma/Myanmar and preparations for Rio+20.

Ministers will adopt council conclusions on the future priorities of the EU’s development policy (Agenda for Change), Budget Support, Policy Coherence for Development and a renewed EU-Pacific Development Partnership. Conclusions will also be adopted on the Annual Report on the EU’s Development Aid Targets. In connection with Burma/Myanmar, ministers will debate the future EU development programmes in the country, coordination amongst Member States and possibilities for joint programming. Finally, a short discussion is foreseen on the development aspects of preparations for the Rio+20 conference, and on food security issues regarding the Horn of Africa.

Regarding the EU’s Development Targets, Hungary remains committed to achieve 0,33% ODA/GNI by 2015. In 2011, Hungary achieved 0,11%, making it one of the nine Member States succeessful in raising their ratio despite the budgetary constraints. During the discussions, Hungary will highlight that while most Member States were forced to undertake austerity measures, maintaining the collective ODA-level still makes the EU the largest ODA-donor internationally. Contributions of new Member States to the European Development Fund (EDF) and the high percentage thereof in their ODA-levels could further modulate the overall picture, therefore the EU’s overall ODA-levels in 2015 could give a more positive outlook than the projections of the European Commission.

Further information: Tamás Orosz, +36 30 735 0690, [[[AKXIJMTmiaPMupwQu7Rm2TD1mdG9yb3N6QG1mYS5nb3YuaHU=]]]

(kormany.hu)