Devex: E.U.’s COVID-19 development boost will all go on budget guarantees
“The European Commission confirmed Tuesday that all of its proposed boost for development spending in response to the coronavirus crisis will go on budget guarantees aimed at spurring private investment. The commission won rare and effusive praise from nongovernmental organizations last week for including €16.5 billion ($18.2 billion) of foreign spending as part of its €750 billion Next Generation E.U. pandemic recovery plan. Of that €16.5 billion, €5 billion is proposed for humanitarian aid, €10.5 billion for development spending, and €1 billion for the existing European Fund for Sustainable Development, or EFSD — the commission’s first attempt to use European Union taxpayer money to cover part of investors’ potential losses in development-friendly projects in Africa and states neighboring the E.U. The only major caveat from civil society on the plan — which is not yet approved and which E.U. heads of state will discuss later this month — was that not all of the €10.5 billion should be used for budget guarantees…” (Chadwick, 6/3).