The European Union (EU) is the biggest provider of budget support and has a longtime expertise in this area, notably through the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) contracts. Over the period 2003-2009, the European Commission made budget support commitments totaling over €13 billion (about 25 % of all commitments)1 and this aid modality represented around 6% of total bilateral aid in 20102.However, questions about how to improve the quality and impact of budget support are raised by several actors. CONCORD welcomes some aspects of the European Commission (EC) communication, especially the commitments towards greater transparency, improved predictability and the willingness to give a greater role to civil society. However, we would like to draw attention to specific issues that remain of concern to us.
Position on the use of EU budget support to developing countries
