Half of EU aid helps middle-income nations: British report

LONDON: British lawmakers called for tougher standards on the distribution of Europe's development aid budget after a report released on Friday revealed more than half went to "middle-income" countries.

The parliamentary committee report urged the government to review its policy and said that the shift of funds to relatively wealthy countries like Serbia and Turkey was eroding faith in the notion of aid.

"British taxpayers want the aid they give to go to the places where it can make the most difference, to countries where millions of people are getting by on less than a pound a day," said Malcolm Bruce, chairman of the International Development Committee.

The report found that only 46 percent of European Union aid went to "low-income" states, the rest being channelled to wealthier countries.

"Turkey has consistently been in the top five recipients of European Commission aid (GBP 182 million, $294 million, 222 million euros in 2010) as has Serbia (GBP 178 million in 2010)" said the report.

Bruce warned that giving aid to relatively rich countries "could devalue the concept of aid".

The report said Britain, which provided GBP 1.23 billion of aid through the EU in 2010, should pressurize the bloc into ensuring that more money reached those who needed it the most.

"Ministers must be bolder in challenging the definition of what qualifies as official development assistance (ODA)," Bruce insisted.

"It appears to be being used as a way of fudging the figures to help other European countries meet the (internationally agreed) target for 0.7 percent of GDP to be given as aid." (AFP)