The recent assessments of aid transparency across European countries by AidWatch and Publish What You Fund have highlighted serious weaknesses in the transparency of aid information across Europe. The signatories are concerned that current proposals to improve transparency (due to be discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council of 9th December) fall significantly short of the aid transparency commitments made at Accra and show a lack of commitment to European leadership on this important issue.

 

Limited progress in improving transparency will affect the capacity to have an effective mutual accountability framework in place, and consequently curtail the role of civil society organisations to hold their governments accountable.

The Signatories call on Catherine Ahston in her role as High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in the European Union to ensure that aid and transparency are high on the agenda of European Development Ministers, giving the EU enough time to demonstrate some concrete progress at Busan in 2011.