UTES

An EU research paper on the UN Millennium Development Goals, which has been presented in Brussels today, argues that the Goals are threatened by the challenges of high food and oil prices and global economic slowdown. The paper suggests that greater efforts are needed for more effective aid, investments in infrastructure to sustain growth, and that social protection should be in each country's agenda. The research was conducted by an independent group of European researchers led by Prof. François Bourguignon, Director of the Paris School of Economics. The group of researches recommend action in six areas: 1.Donors need to deliver on all their pledges, including those related to trade, debt relief, the volume of aid and also the effectiveness of aid. 2.Investments in infrastructure are essential to stimulate and sustain growth. Such investments should not be at the expense of basic needs and rights. 3.Global economic institutions, including the Bretton Woods Institutions, need to be reformed. The reinvigoration of trade negotiations is part of this, including the Doha Round and the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreements. 4.The poorest need to be protected from shocks, whether caused by high food and oil prices or the emerging consequences of climate change. 5. Developing countries with weak institutions, often embroiled in or emerging from conflict, need to be assisted with political, financial and sometimes military resources. 6. As the geographical distribution of poverty is changing, with China and others moving to middle income status, it is important to think about the MDGs beyond 2015.

• http://ec.europa.eu/development/index_en.cfm
• http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/