§ 10. Mr. McWalterTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on progress in reforming the EU' s development work. [111182]
§ Clare ShortI welcome the commitment of the new European Commission to major improvement of the European Union's development programmes. Most of the damaging splits in responsibility within the Commission have been removed, a development policy statement will be tabled this month, and the structure of the European Development Fund was significantly improved during the negotiations on the next Lomé convention.
The UK advocated all these changes in the strategy we published over a year ago. But the impact of these measures has not yet been felt on the ground or reflected in the allocation of EC development spending. We will continue to press for much greater effectiveness and efficiency in EC programmes so that the EU plays a more effective role in meeting the international poverty eradication targets.