Portugal contributed €380M to EU development aid in 2021

  • Lusa
  • 18 July 2022

Portugal mobilised €380 million in 2021 for development aid to third countries, an increase of 17.83 million compared to the previous year.

The European Union (EU) and the 27 member states mobilised a total of €70.2 billion in 2021 for development aid to third countries, with Portugal contributing €380 million, it was announced on Monday.

In a statement released on Monday, the European Commission said that “the EU and its 27 member states continued to increase their Official Development Assistance [ODA] to partner countries around the world to €70.2 billion in 2021,” an amount that “represents an increase of 4.3% in nominal terms and the equivalent of 0.49% of collective Gross National Income [GNI].”

The figures are from the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and refer to support provided by the EU and its member states to developing countries in the form of projects, programmes, provision of goods and services, debt relief operations and contributions to organisations.

“The EU and its member states, working together as Team Europe, thus confirm their position as the world’s leading donor, providing 43% of global ODA,” the European Commission highlights, pointing out that the EU bloc is “determined to meet its collective commitment to provide at least 0.7% of collective GNI as development support by 2030.”

OECD data indicates that in 2021, Portugal mobilised €380 million in development aid, equivalent to 0.18% of collective GNI and an increase of 17.83 million compared to the previous year.

According to the same data, Portugal and 21 other member states increased their contribution to development aid last year compared to 2020, with the largest nominal increases coming from Germany (+€2.064 billion), Italy (+1.360 billion) and France (+€668 million).

In all, the 27 member states alone disbursed €69.3 billion of the EU’s total €70.2 billion, with the rest coming from European institutions, such as the European Commission and the European Investment Bank, and other donors.

Development aid by European institutions decreased overall in 2021 in nominal terms by €1.1 billion (-6.3%), “mainly due to repayments of private sector loans, as well as the anticipation of payments in 2020, which ensured rapid support to partner countries in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic,” explains the EU executive in the press release.

The data on ODA to Africa for 2021 is not expected to be published by the OECD until the end of 2022. In 2020, the European development support to African countries increased by 18% in nominal terms compared to 2019, reaching €23.4 billion .

Also in that year, 36% of the total development aid from the 27 member states mobilised for developing countries went to Africa.