Devex: Opinion: France has great ambitions for international development. It needs to act on them.
Friederike Röder, director of ONE France

“…[France President Emmanuel Macron] has visited Africa nine times in nine months, created a new advisory body — the Presidential Council for Africa — and set a goal to increase aid to 0.55 percent of GNI by 2022. While this number is still below the international target of 0.7 percent…, it’s still a significant figure for international development. … One test for Macron’s leadership on development, and the international scene in general, will be the European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework, the E.U.’s financial plan for the next seven years. … [The E.U.’s] budget will decide whether they are on track to reach the collective commitment of allocating 0.7 percent of their collective GNI to development and whether they will help the world achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. … To reach the global player level the E.U. so desires, it will need a very strong external budget, and a radical increase in E.U. aid … Now, Macron needs to translate this into a financial reality — speaking up in favor of an MFF that sets the E.U. on track for the 0.7 percent” (4/26).