Spain: NGOs praise increase in development aid

This budgetary item is planned to raise by 32% in comparison with the last annual budget and to amount to 0,42% of the Gross National Income. This would be the highest increase ever experienced by the official Spanish Development Aid, although it would still clearly fall behind the percentage of 0,7% that the United Nations accorded 36 years ago and that only five countries ? Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden – have reached so far.

In 2007, 12% of the Development Aid will be devoted to debt cancellation, which increases by 18% in comparison with 2006. In recent years, debt cancellation has had a significant weight in development aid, although the ?Coordinadora? (Spanish Federation of NGO for development) calls for it not to be considered as development aid in accordance with the Monterrey consensus agreement.

The Spanish Government is currently drafting a new law on debt cancellation that the ?Coordinadora? esteems should include measures for the entire cancellation of bilateral external debt in the case of the extremely indebted poor countries, South Saharan Africa and the least advanced countries. The ?Coordinadora? also deplores the lack of a well-planned, explicit, transparent and participatory management policy of external debt.

The Spanish NGOs for Development will also see increased their funding by the Spanish Government, from which they will receive 180 million _ in 2007, although this amount will represent a relative decrease in terms of the budget of the Spanish Agency for International Co-operation.

More information on:
http://www.congde.org