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"The outcome of the Nairobi summit signals a renewed commitment to development effectiveness that is critical to ending poverty. Rich, donor countries must get behind this agenda, not undermine it, especially as our world faces huge, unprecedented humanitarian challenges," said Oxfam International's executive director, Winnie Byanyima. 

Today's digital tax proposal could help bring EU tax rules into the 21st century, by updating them to the digital economy. However, the European Commission's short-term proposal will not stop tax dodging by big tech firms, and could delay the much-needed global long-term solution. 

The European Union’s suggestion today of global public financing worth €22-€50 billion per year for developing countries to tackle climate change falls short of what is needed.

Reacting to the outcome of the Busan aid negotiations, Oxfam said donors had put off important decisions about how to improve aid.

As poor countries face the full impact of the economic crisis, European governments are falling short by nearly €40bn (USD$55m) on their aid promises and will not meet their 2010 aid target until 2012, a new report from CONCORD reveals.

If Europe were to rule out its support of biofuels by 2020, the region could lower its net imports of grain and oilseeds by up to 27 million tons, remarkably reducing its dependence on foreign goods. Global food prices could also drop significantly.

European leaders failed today to meet the expectations they had raised of cracking down on tax dodging at a summit in Brussels. In reaction, Catherine Olier, Oxfam’s EU Policy Adviser, said:

The true scandal is that most of the schemes used by BASF are legal, and a consequence of fierce tax competition between EU member states, says Oxfam in reaction to the Greens/EFA group report on aggressive tax planning practices of German chemical giant BASF.

Oxfam estimates that the proposed EU aid cuts could be enough to have lifted more than 4.6 million people in the poorest countries out of extreme poverty. The proposed cuts to emergency aid alone would mean the EU is turning a blind eye on the plight of 150 million people affected by disasters or conflicts.

As the G8 Summit comes to a close, international agency Oxfam criticized the leaders for their failure to deliver on their promises and for trying to divert attention by cobbling together a small initiative for maternal and child health.