MPs’ concern over EU aid

More than half of Europe’s development aid budget is going to “middle-income” countries that should not qualify, MPs have warned.

A Commons committee’s report challenges the UK government, which gave £1.23 billion in aid via the EU in 2010, to demand tougher standards to ensure support goes to the most needy nations.

“British taxpayers want the aid they give to go to the places where it can make the most difference, to countries where millions of people are getting by on less than a pound a day,” said Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce, who chairs the international development committee.

Its report reveals that only 46 per cent of EU aid goes to low-income states: an “unacceptable” figure. The rest goes to relatively better-off countries, such as Turkey and Serbia.

“Turkey has consistently been in the top five recipients of European Commission aid (£182 million in 2010), as has Serbia (£178m in 2010),” it says.