The EU offer is not going to deliver the ambition needed for Sevilla

Today civil society organisations in Brussels are calling on European countries to raise their ambition after the release of a "deeply disappointing" collective EU position in the Council Conclusions "ahead of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development", taking place in Spain next month. 

The Conference will bring together governments from around the world to tackle issues such as sovereign debt, international development cooperation and international financial architecture reform. 

Jean Saldanha, Director at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) said: “The world is facing the worst debt crisis ever, and the aid budgets of OECD countries are being slashed. Many Global South governments are calling for decision-making to shift from forums dominated by wealthy countries like the OECD and the G20 to the UN, where everyone has a seat at the table. Instead of backing these proposals, today’s Conclusions show the EU defending the status quo. But it is not yet too late for EU countries to back outcomes that will deliver a better future for the world’s poorest people.”

On the sovereign debt crisis, which has led lower-income countries to spend more on servicing their debt than they do on education and healthcare, the EU position is woefully inadequate. The Conclusions call for an annual dialogue, dominated by creditors, with UN institutions and a few borrowing countries. Borrowing countries need and have been calling for an inclusive and comprehensive process where debtors and creditors would negotiate on an equal footing instead. 

Javier García de la Oliva, Head of Country Engagement and Transformation Europe and Americas at ActionAid International, said: “The EU blockage to borrowing countries’ proposal for an intergovernmental process to establish a UN framework convention on debt is the most striking evidence of their preference for the undemocratic creditor creditor-dominated status quo. The EU wrongly claims that such a process would be duplicative, but then proposes the creation of a useless and duplicative talk shop involving the UN in an attempt to deflect criticism.”

On development cooperation, the EU "recalls the collective commitment" to fulfil their "respective ODA commitments" to deliver 0.7 per cent of gross national income as foreign aid. Yet, the 2024 figures show that ODA fell by 8.6 per cent among EU members compared to 2023. And, these figures are just the tip of the iceberg, as in 2025, the situation will be even worse, following significant announcements of aid budget cuts. Moreover, the EU falls back again on the Global Gateway, an investment initiative that barely scratches the surface of the challenges the poorest countries in the world are facing.

Hernan Saenz, Oxfam International's FfD Global Lead, said: “European leaders have been stating their commitment to international development, but their collective position published today is rich in rhetoric but poor in commitments. It is no more than the bare minimum, with proposals that relegate the responsibility to deliver on private finance instead of raising public ambition. Restating previous ODA commitments is meaningless, if this is not followed by concrete actions." 

Jean Saldanha, Director at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad), said:  “Wealthy countries both set and monitor the rules that govern aid and development cooperation more broadly, through the OECD, which is an exclusive space. Several governments in the global south and CSOs from across the world are demanding a greater role for the UN in the governance and norm-setting of international development cooperation. While the Council states that it ‘is in favour of enhancing the international development cooperation architecture’, its support to processes that do not share the buy-in or ownership of the full UN membership is disappointing.” 

Jean Saldanha, Director at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad), said: It is too early for the Global Gateway to be a credible offer for countries in the global south. There is a significant risk that the focus on creating opportunities for European businesses in the global south is prioritised over development objectives such as poverty reduction.” 

The negotiations towards the Financing for Development Conference are set to continue next month. 

Hernan Saenz, Oxfam International's FfD Global Lead, said: “The EU knows Sevilla could be a turning point – a chance to make sure that global cooperation works for people. But instead of choosing a side, the EU is playing safe. They walk the middle road even though it is crumbling beneath them. The EU must choose: stand with a decaying, unequal world or choose a new world that puts people, planet, and the fight against inequality at its core. It’s shocking. In a world where the gap between the rich and poor has never been so big, when aid cuts are the new norm and debt is piling up, the EU turns a blind eye to real solutions – like supporting the taxing of the super-rich and backing the UN’s Tax Convention push for fairer global tax rules.”

Javier García de la Oliva, Head of Country Engagement and Transformation Europe and Americas at ActionAid International, said: "While the global south pushes for a fairer multilateral system, the EU clings to outdated privileges and broken governance models. This stance not only fails the planet and the most vulnerable—it undermines the EU’s own credibility, its Treaty commitments to democracy and multilateralism, and its (self-proclaimed) leadership on sustainable development. We call on the most ambitious Member States to lead by example and push for greater ambition when they next meet in New York, in the preparatory negotiations, and in Sevilla itself for this pivotal conference.”