The declaration adopted at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 included eight development goals. The goals set specific targets to be achieved by 2015 in areas such as the reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty, universal primary education, maternal and child mortality and HIV/AIDS.
The EU, which contributes over 50% of global overseas development assistance, has a major role to play in the achievement of the millennium development goals. By taking the lead and using the millennium development goals as an overarching framework for its development policy with the key target of poverty reduction, the EU can set an example for other international donors. The achievement of the millennium development goals is closely linked to the mobilisation of development finance. In April 2002 there was a follow-up to the millennium summit when the UN held the International Conference on Financing for Development. This conference adopted an agreement, the Monterey consensus, which deals with all sources of development finance, including the mobilisation of domestic savings, trade, debt relief and overseas development assistance.
As its contribution to the Monterey consensus, the Barcelona European Council adopted eight development commitments covering, inter alia, overseas development assistance, trade and debt relief. The Council agreed that EU member states would collectively increase their ODA to ensure the EU average ODA would rise to 0.39% of gross national income by 2006 from an average of 0.33% of GNI in 2001. It has been estimated that this commitment will result in an additional €20 billion in collective EU ODA between 2002 and 2006.
The EU Commission is closely monitoring the implementation of the Barcelona development commitments, including the ODA commitment. The second progress report on the commitments will be presented to the General Affairs and External Relations Council in April 2004 during Ireland's EU Presidency. I see this discussion by Ministers at the General Affairs Council as one of the most important development debates at the Council during our Presidency. We will use the discussion by EU Ministers of this progress report to focus EU political and public attention on the central importance of the millennium development goals and their financing.
We are already discussing the preparation of the progress report with the Commission and have indicated the importance of this issue on our Presidency agenda. I am satisfied that the consideration by the General Affairs Council of the Commission's progress report will be a major opportunity to highlight the central relevance of the millennium development goals to the European Union and to reaffirm the EU's commitment to the goals and their financing.