Source: Devex.com
The European Union, the world’s largest aid donor, will use this week’s G-8 Summit in the United Kingdom to deliver a strong message on the bloc’s goals: Fairness in trade, inclusive growth, job creation and a push for development.Despite budget constraints that have forced most member states to defer their targets on aid spending as a percentage of gross national income, the EU still plays an influential role at the meeting of the world’s eight wealthiest nations, excluding China and Brazil.
Half of the G-8 countries — Germany, France, Italy and the U.K. — are part of the European Union and the summit is chaired by the U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron.“The EU is coming to this G-8 Summit to promote global fairness […] I am confident that this summit under U.K. presidency will provide the momentum to move forward on these important priorities,” European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said in a statement.European Council President Herman van Rompuy added that the meeting “comes at a time with important economic and political challenges,” asserting Brussels’ commitment to finding solutions.Barroso and Van Rompuy will both address the G-8 leaders in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, and put forward their case as to why the club should focus on several issues directly related to development, the first of which are the so-called “3 Ts” of trade, taxation and transparency:
Categories: Europe, European Union