The European Commission has released the 2019 Eurobarometer survey on citizen attitudes towards international cooperation and development. Among the highlights of the report, 86% of Europeans think it is important to help people in developing countries, which makes development aid one of the most positively perceived EU policies.
For the first time a question was posed on the EU’s relationship with Africa. 75% of Europeans feel the EU should strengthen its partnership with Africa to create jobs and ensure sustainable development on both continents.
Tim Cole, Europe Executive Director at The ONE Campaign, said: The Eurobarometer results send a very loud and clear message to the EU: the vast majority of Europeans firmly believe that the EU should be a global leader on sustainable development and have a strong partnership with Africa. This is not a trend but a reality.
ONE hears this every day from our millions of members across Europe. They want the EU to do better and back this public support with an EU development budget in the next MFF that reaches 140bn euros and supports achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Our neighbour Africa holds great potential, with a median age of 18 compared to 42 in Europe. Europe needs Africa, just as Africa needs Europe, and three in four Europeans see this. We want to see EU leaders making real commitments and the announcement that Brussels will host the next EU-AU summit in 2020 is a good start. But we need more than words, we need actions. Africa needs 22.5 million jobs per year to provide opportunities for its young population. How is the EU going to help with that?
