EU should spend ODA effectively

For the next seven years, the new EU budget will allocate 10% of its external action instrument to migration activities. We are concerned about the best use of such resources and how they can contribute – as much as possible – to promoting sustainable development in partner countries, in alignment with partner countries’ priorities and local populations’ most pressing needs.

We hope this portion of the budget is used to maximise the positive contributions that migration can make to sustainable development in countries of origin and destination, as well as to expand safe and regular pathways for mobility. If this is the case, then all financial resources can and should be considered as Official Development Assistance (ODA). If, however, they are directed to activities that bring little, if any, development added-value, and that exist primarily to promote EU’s domestic interests, then they should not be reported as ODA. ODA is a scarce resource that must be preserved for poverty eradication and inequality reduction.

In this submission, Caritas Europa and 18 other civil society organisations and networks present their recommendations on which migration-related activities should be eligible to be reported as ODA.