Comments on the Ministry for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation’s 2015 budget
The letter on the Ministry for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation’s budget for 2015 considers, among other things, the development of expenditure on Official Development Assistance (ODA).
For many years, the Netherlands earmarked 0.7% of its gross national product for Official Development Assistance (ODA). The spending cuts of the Rutte/Verhagen and Rutte/Asscher governments are being deducted from this amount. ODA expenditure was 0.67% of GNP in 2013 and will decline to 0.6% in 2015. The additional funds that could have been released for ODA because annual GNP will be between €20 and €50 billion higher than initially estimated as from 2014 will not be used for ODA.
An estimated 41% of ODA will be spent in 2015 on the government’s four thematic priorities: Security and Rule of Law; Food Security; Water; and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Only 26% had been spent on these themes in 2010. The current government is continuing the focus on the four thematic priorities announced by the Rutte/Verhagen government and will give them greater prominence in the budget.
The letter is only in Dutch available.