Introduction
by Elena Vallino[1]
The most recent report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) states that the improvements of more than 50% of SDG targets are not sufficient, and 30% of them are either stagnating or reversing (United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report, 2023). Moreover, the recent shocks, such as the global pandemic and the armed conflicts, challenged further the improvements in socio-economic standards, the redistributive effects of economic growth and the environmental protection. Consequently, it is important to reflect on the role of the European Union for the policies affecting those dimensions, with particular attention to poverty eradication in developing countries. Moreover, it is significant to understand to what extent, and in which domains, actions delivered by the EU as such can reach goals that would be more costly or challenging for Member States to pursue on their own. Advantages are expected to be in the creation of economies of scale in mobilizing resources, in a more efficient use of resources, and in improved coordination among stakeholders. In this issue of the OEET Newsletter we aim at briefly discussing some of these issues. The content of the Newsletter is inspired by a broad study conducted by the European Parliament Research Service (EPRS), to which the Turin Centre on Emerging Economies partly contributed. The study was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Development (DEVE). The analysis focuses on three channels along which the EU policies may have impacts on poverty in the Global South: (i) actions for improving resource use in Official Development Assistance and climate finance; (ii) actions for redirecting trade policies toward development and poverty reduction; (iii) actions toward a fairer international economic system. The study focuses on the 46 least-developed countries.[2] Evidently, most of the challenges about poverty in the Global South encompass a global dimension, beyond the sole role of the EU. Nevertheless, the EU could have a crucial impact through its direct action and through the promotion of an appropriate multilateralism.
In this Newsletter, Cecilia Navarra broadly presents the main research questions and the main findings of the whole EPRS study, posing a particular focus on the added value of the role of the European Union in the above-mentioned areas. Celso Fuinhas focuses on the impacts of the EU global value chain’s policies on poverty and development, mentioning the spaces for policy improvements and presenting a case study on Mozambique. Antonia Stock writes about the EU climate action, in particular in relation to poverty reduction in LCDs, again proposing some policy recommendations and discussing the case of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). [3]
Notes
[1] Department of Cultures, Politics and Society (University of Torino) and OEET.
[2] UN list of least developed countries
[3] The content of this newsletter is inspired by a research conducted by Donatella Saccone, Elena Vallino, Celso Fuinhas and Antonia Stock (OEET) for the European Parliament Research Service. The research is entitled “Cost of non-Europe in EU action to eradicate poverty in developing countries: Impact of policies in areas of trade, global value chains and climate action”, and it is published as Annex III of the Report “Improving EU action to end poverty in developing countries. Cost of non-Europe report”, written by Cecilia Navarra, Aleksandra Heflich and Meenakshi Fernandes, European Added Value Unit, European Parliament Research Service, April 2024.
