Policies of the European Union and financial perspectives

The European Union (EU) is a very important player in the field of development cooperation in general and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in particular. About 60% of global financial support to the ICPD goals is coming from the EU.
Currently a number of processes are re-shaping the EU’s aid policies. These include the development of a new aid framework and discussions about the financial perspectives.
WPF is monitoring these developments and, if needed appropriate follow-up action is taken.

WPF is well placed to monitor and follow-up on developments of the European Commission:

being a board member in the Dutch NGO-EU network, which in turn is a member in CONCORD, the federation of European development NGOs. This network will become the Platform Europe under the Partos umbrella from 1 January 2007 onwards;
good working relations with the Brussels based organizations on sexual and reproductive health and rights and Dutch policymakers.

Activities:

2007

Arend Jan Boekestijn, Dutch MP and spokesperson Development Cooperation for the Liberal Party (VVD) is visiting Ghana from 21-28 July. He was invited to take part in the joint study tour by the European Parliamenary Forum on Population and Development, Action Canada for Population and Development and the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health. The weeklong tour will raise awareness amongst Canadian and European Parliamentarians of the unmet sexual and reproductive health needs of Ghanaians and will enable participating Parliamentarians to gain first-hand experience of the reality of the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights situation in a developing country. Yvonne Bogaarts (WPF) was involved in organising this study tour. (July)
An advertorial supported by a number of NGOs (inlcuding WPF) which was published in the European Voice (5-11 July 2007). 07.07.07 marks the half-way point to reaching the MDGs but at the current rate of progress we will not meet the 2015 deadline. Universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights is vital to the MDGs. Basic reproductive health services are affordable and cost-effective and would save millions of lives, yet donors provided in 2005 only 55% of the funding needed for family planning and safe motherhood. The ad calls on donors to prioritise these issues into development plans and policies, and to dedicate sufficient and sustainable funding to them. To sign up to this call, please send an e-mail to: MDGs@mariestopes-org.be and tell donors it’s time to meet their commitments. (July)

2006

Seminar on European Development Policies, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Supplies.
The Seminar was the culmination of a series of activities organised by WPF and its partners and the European Parliamentary Network on Population and Development working together in the campaign Countdown 2015. (October)
Letter to the Austrian Chancellor Schüssel (Austrian presidency of the EU) referring to the Call for Action of the conference What about sex?, held in march 2006 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. (April)
Letter to all Dutch Members of the European Parliament as well as to the parliamentary commission for Foreign Affairs (Vaste Kamercommissie Buitenlandse Zaken) about the activities of the Vatican to undermine Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. (January) (In Dutch)

2005

Letter to Mr. Bot, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs in his capacity as member of the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC). The same letter was also sent to all members of the GAERC (i.e. all EU member states).

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