Embargo: Immediate: 06.30 Tuesday 27 September 2016
UK MUST LEAVE EU AID SCHEMES TO HELP DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND SAVE LIVES
A new research paper published by Global Britain has established that the UK would be able to direct greater resources to help developing nations and their peoples by ending its funding of European Union multi-billion aid projects following Brexit.
The paper “Making aid work outside the EU” found that EU aid was wasteful, inefficient and often used to support despotic regimes known for shocking levels of torture and corruption.
The paper also found that the combination of the EU’s Customs Union tariffs and Common Agricultural Policy subsidies create a cycle of dependency whereby the EU’s obstacles to trade create a demand for foreign aid.
Examples included punitive EU tariffs that ruined the tomato industry in Ghana and ensure that without growing a single coffee bean Germany profits more from processing coffee than the whole of Africa does from growing it. Similar tariffs, subsidies and quotas have hit the Caribbean sugar cane industry to the benefit of European sugar beet farmers. Commenting on the report its author BrianMonteith said,
“Anyone who reads this report cannot fail to be shocked and appalled at what has been done in our name by the EU over many years. The Customs Union has stopped developing nations prospering through trade, they then become dependent on receiving foreign aid which, in the case of the EU’s schemes, are hugely inefficient and wasteful and often support regimes that have been shown to be undemocratic, corrupt and reliant on torture.
“It is vital that the UK ends its financial support to EU aid immediately following Brexit and directs those funds through its own departments. It is also vital the UK leaves the EU’s Customs Union so that it can strike up trade deals with developing nations, helping them to prosper and become less reliant on foreign aid. Remaining in the Customs Union would consign millions of people in Africa and Asia to continuing life-threatening poverty and malnutrition. The UK has to take a moral lead and break this cruel cycle of dependency.
“The UK funding for EU aid is part of its legislative requirement to spend 0.7% of GDP on international development, thus UK departments, primarily DFID and the FCO, will need to programme the new funds. The savings the UK can achieve by channelling the aid directly will mean millions more can reach the targets achieving far greater value for money.
“Due to the long lead times in planning the necessary interventions starting work on the new strategy should commence immediately.”
Download the Media Release: gb-media-release-06-27-09-16-uk-must-leave-eu-aid-schemes