Chancellor hails EU aid agreement

The UN wants world poverty halved by 2015

Chancellor Gordon Brown says "huge progress" has been made after the European Union agreed to double its development aid to poorer nations.

In five years time, the EU's aid to poor countries will be worth an extra £14bn annually.

The deal was signed in Brussels, but Germany, Italy and Portugal say they may not be able to afford the increase.

It comes as Britain prepares to put the fight against world poverty at the top of its G8 summit agenda this summer.

'Unambitious' targets

The 15 richest EU member states have agreed to set a new spending target - at least 0.51% of their national wealth - on the developing world by 2010.

The other 10 poorer, mostly eastern European member states - who joined the EU last year - agreed a 0.17% target.

Shadow international development secretary Andrew Mitchell welcomed the agreement, saying it was a "significant move in the right direction".

But Andrew George, the Lib Dems' spokesman on international development, says the targets are "not ambitious enough".

America is ready to increase the aid it provides Gordon Brown

Mr Brown hailed the aid increase as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a huge difference".

But he said it was now important to bring together all the world's richest nations to sign up to a single plan.

He hoped the plan could be agreed when Britain chaired the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July.

He said he was sure America would support efforts to increase the amount of aid going to the developing world.

The goals, which were approved by UK International Development Secretary Hilary Benn and fellow EU ministers, are an attempt to revive momentum towards achieving a United Nations target to halve world poverty by 2015.

The UN target would involve 0.7% of national wealth being spent on development by that date.

The target, which was set 35 years ago, has only been achieved by four EU countries - Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Five others - the UK, France, Belgium, Finland and Spain - have set firm dates to meet it.

Brown: Richest nations need to sign up to single plan of action

Mr Brown said: "What we have seen is all 25 European Union countries - the poorest and the richest - coming together to promise that aid, which was $40bn last year will be $80bn by 2010.

"So Europe is saying it will double aid. It is putting that money to health and education and particularly into Africa."

Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to meet US president George Bush and Russian president Vladimir Putin as part of a whirlwind tour of world leaders that he hopes will win support for his plans for Africa and climate change.

Mr Brown said Mr Blair, who will also speak to the Japanese and Canadians by video conference link, wanted to bring all the richest countries together "so that we have a plan that could mean that by 2015 we have halved poverty".

'Great news'

The chancellor said this would ensure "every child in the world can get schooling and we've dealt with the avoidable deaths caused by infant and maternal mortality".

He said he was sure America would support efforts to increase the amount of aid going to the developing world.

"America is prepared to support our debt relief proposals; they've put forward proposals for doing far more for HIV/Aids in Africa ... America is ready to increase the aid it provides," he said.

Jonathan Glennie, of Christian Aid, said the charity was "very excited about the announcement".

"We think it is great news. The governments of Europe have responded to clear public pressure on this and the public have said we need to be more generous to poor countries," he said.

According to the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, the new deal could have a "persuasive effect" on America, Japan and Canada to honour the commitments they have made.