Publication

The EU’s discourse on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) remains unhelpfully inward-looking. Heavy on chest-beating reassertions of Europe’s unmatched development spending, the official rhetoric falls short on concrete plans for connecting EU aid to trade and investment in partner developing countries. The restrictive, technical approach of the MDGs has come under criticism, inspiring donors in Asia and elsewhere to seize the initiative to canvass their own successful development models for Africa.