Vol. 470 No. 8
12 Mr. Hughes asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs whether the EU remains committed to the development policy objectives outlined in Article 130u of the Maastrict Treaty in view of the rapidly increasing total aid budget commitment to strategically important areas, particularly Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union which will absorb nearly one-third of total aid within the next five years. [20059/96]
The European Union remains fully committed to the principles outlined in Article 130u of the Treaty on European Union. The EU's commitment to these principles was clearly stated in the Horizon 2000 Declaration adopted by EU Development Ministers in December 1992. Title XVII of the Treaty, which deals with development co-operation and includes Article 130u, continues to be a primary point of reference for all EU development policies and programmes.
Article 130v of the Treaty requires that the objectives referred to in Article 130u shall be taken into account in policies likely to affect developing countries. In this way the needs of developing countries are recognised and taken into account in the wider policies of the Union.
The Union budget for 1997 has not yet been finalised, and it is not possible, at this stage, to make exact predictions of the allocations to each budget line. The final allocations to different regions cannot, therefore, yet be calculated. This holds true also for successive budget years.
