MEMO/10/419
Brussels, 16 September 2010
Background information on the UN MDG High Level Summit and activities of President Barroso and Commissioner Piebalgs
The Millennium Development Goals
Ten years ago, world leaders agreed on eight Millennium Development Goals to take decisive action to combat world poverty in its different dimensions. Using time-bound and measurable targets, they agreed that by 2015:
Poverty and hunger should be reduced by one half,
Full primary education for all should be ensured,
Gender disparity should be eliminated,
Maternal mortality should be reduced by two thirds,
Child mortality should be reduced by three quarters,
The spread of HIV/AIDS and incidence of malaria and other major diseases should be halted,
Environmental sustainability should be ensured,
A Global Partnership for Development should be developed.
Progress on the MDGs has been strong and sustained in some areas: Extreme poverty decreased from 1.8 billion in 1990 to 1.4 billion in 2005. Enrolment in primary education is at 89%, up from 82% in 1999. If current trends continue, 86% of people in developing regions will have access to clean water in 2015. However, progress has been highly uneven among regions, countries and population groups. Some targets are also globally off-track: It is estimated that in 2009 more than 1 billion people suffered from hunger. Maternal mortality is not decreasing nearly fast enough to meet the target for 2015 and the number of people living with HIV worldwide continues to grow.
The Treaty of Lisbon establishes the reduction and the eradication of poverty as the primary objective of the Union’s development cooperation policy. As part of global MDG efforts, the European Union as a whole has committed to lift its level of development aid to 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015. At currently €49 billion per year, the EU and its Member States remain the largest global donor, but progress on reaching the threshold of 0.7% needs to be accelerated: In 2009 development aid reached 0.42% of GNI for the whole EU.
Activities of President Barroso and Commissioner Piebalgs during the High-Level Meeting in New York, 20-22 September (subject to change)
Activities of President Barroso
20 September
Time | Venue | Event |
09.00-13.00 | General Assembly Hall, UN | Opening session of the High Level Plenary Meeting; President Barroso to address the Plenary |
10.00-13.00 | CR 4 North Lawn | MDG Roundtable 1 "Addressing the challenge of poverty, hunger and gender equality" |
10.30-12.45 tbc | tbc | Bilateral Meetings, with inter alia UNSG Ban Ki-Moon, Prime Minister of Turkey Erdogan and President of Mexico Calderon |
13.15-15.00 | Visitors' Lobby | MDG Luncheon, hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon |
15.00-18.00 | CR4 North Lawn | MDG Plenary and MDG Roundtable 2 "Meeting the goals of health and education" |
17.00-17.15 tbc | Bilateral Meeting with Secretary General of Iberoamericano, Mr Enrique Iglesias | |
18.00-21.00 | General Assembly Hall, UN | High Level Plenary Meeting |
21 September
Time | Venue | Event |
10.00-11.30 | Columbia University | Speech at World Leaders Forum, Columbia University: "Post-Crisis: a Leading Global Role for Europe", followed by Q&A |
15.00-15.30 | tbc | Meeting with Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank |
15.00-18.00 | MDG Plenary and / MDG Roundtable 4 "Addressing emerging issues and evolving approaches" | |
17.00-18.00 | tbc | Meeting with George Soros, Mo Ibrahim and Bob Geldof |
18.00-21.00 | MDG Plenary |
22 September
Time | Venue | Event |
09.00-10.00 | UN | Opening of the High Level Event on Biodiversity |
PM 10.00-14.00 | MDG Plenary and in parallel MDG Roundtable 5 "Addressing the special needs of the most vulnerable" | |
15.00-17.00 | MDG Plenary and in parallel MDG Roundtable 6 "Widening and strengthening partnerships" (President Barroso will address the roundtable) | |
17.00-18.00 | MDG closing session | |
18.00-19.00 | Biodiversity closing session |
23 September
Time | Venue | Event |
17.30-19.00 | Council for Foreign Relations – Park Avenue at 68th Street | Speech "Fostering Economic Recovery: EU moves from Crisis Management to Reform Agenda" at Council for Foreign Relations – followed by Q&A |
Activities of EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs
20 September
Time | Venue | Event |
07.45 | EU Delegation | Breakfast meeting with MEPs |
09.00-13.00 | UN General Assembly Hall | Attends the opening session of the High Level Plenary Meeting |
13.00-15.00 | United Nations Delegates Dining Room | Co-chairs of the High level event sponsored by the European Commission on "Domestic Resource Mobilisation – achieving development and the MDGs in a sustainable way": open to media Co-chaired by Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank Efficient tax systems are crucial for attaining the MDGs. According to estimates, however, developing countries lose several hundred billion dollars each year du to tax evasion and avoidance. The event aims at identifying key challenges and proposing a way forward. |
16.00 | Meeting with Bob Geldof | |
17.30-19.00 | CR 8 GAB | Participates to the High-Level Side Event "Peacebuilding in the Central African Republic" |
21 September
Time | Venue | Event |
07.30-09.00 | DDR | Co-chairs a Breakfast meeting with UNESCO on "Culture and Development" Co-chaired by Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, AU-Commission President Jean Ping and UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova |
10.00-13.00 | Speaks at the MDG Round Table 3: "Promoting Sustainable Development" | |
15.30-18.00 | CR 2 NLB | Attends the "Leading Group on innovative sources of financing for development", organised by France, Belgium and Japan |
17.30-19.30 | Ford Foundation Auditorium | Participates in televised "BBC World Debate" |
22 September
Time | Venue | Event |
13.15-14.30 | DDR | Attends the Round table on "The Central role of Education for Development", organised by Quatar, UNICEF, UNESCO and Save the Children |
15.00-17.00 | MDG Plenary | |
17.00-18.00 | Attends Closing session of the High Level Plenary Meeting |
