EU must be willing to act on its principles

PEOPLE across the EU will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome tomorrow when the Berlin declaration will set out the EU’s principles and values, as well as its aspirations for the future.

As the largest donor in the world, Europe has a clear obligation to promote leadership in the areas of development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

In recent years, we have made many commitments to increasing overseas aid, to working in partnership, to achieving the millennium development goals and to the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence derived from the Geneva conventions.