India: EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner proposes €470m package

FR - DE

During her visit to India, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero Waldner, announced that the European Commission is proposing substantial financial assistance to India over the next seven years. An amount of €470 million should be available 2007-2013 to support the implementation of the Joint Action Plan, notably economic co-operation and sectoral dialogues, as well as help India achieve its Millennium Development Goals in the Health and Education sectors. This represents a substantial increase compared to funding provided in the past.

Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner said in Delhi: "India is forging ahead. The EU wants to play its part in the emergence of India as a more prosperous nation, playing its role on the international stage on the key issues of our day. We are designing our package to match India's own priorities - economic reforms and progress in health and education - to cement still further the partnership that we are building together."

The new Country Strategy Paper for India 2007-2013 (€470 million in total - a yearly average of €67 million) proposes to focus EU co-operation on the following priorities:

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• Floods in India, Bangladesh and Nepal: EU Commission allocates € 9.5m in emergency aid to flood victims (30/8/2007)
• "EU-India trade and Doha Round of WTO" - Speech by EU Commissioner Fischer Boel  (6/3/2007)
• "Europe in the global age: open or closed?" - Speech by EU Commissioner Mandelson (8/2/2007)
• Humanitarian Aid: EU Commission allocates €4m for victims of floods in India and Bangladesh (6/11/2006)
• Message sent on behalf of President Barroso to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (12/7/2006)