KEPA denounces including costs of settling refugees in development aid figures

“Government wants to make Finland biggest recipient of Finnish development aid”

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The Finnish government’s plans to change the way that Finnish government aid to developing countries is calculated is being criticised by the Service Centre for Development Cooperation (KEPA). According to the organisation, the changes could make Finland itself the biggest recipient of its own development aid.
      Finland currently lists the first year of expenses incurred from receiving refugees from developing countries within its annual refugee quota as development cooperation spending, as well as costs from asylum-seekers whose applications have been excepted, and those who have are taken into Finland as part of family unification.
     
Under the current methods of calculation, EUR 18 million in refugee costs were marked down as development cooperation spending in 2008.
      The government is currently assessing the possibility to include the costs of rejected asylum seekers in its development aid. The aim is to decide on the matter by March so that the new system of calculation might be applied when reporting on last year’s development spending to the OECD, which keeps the official international statistics.
     
In the state budget, these refugee costs add up to EUR 39 million.
      According to KEPA, such a move would make Finland itself the biggest recipient of its own development assistance.
      In 2008, the largest recipients of Finnish development funding were Tanzania (EUR 27 million), Mozambique (EUR 26 million), and Vietnam (EUR 19 million).
      Niina Pitkänen, development policy secretary at KEPA says that at the very least, the money marked down as development funding should be spent on improving living conditions in poor countries, and not in boosting the Finnish economy.
     
Many other OECD member countries, including Sweden, include spending that does not actually bring any new resources to poor countries in figures on spending on overseas aid. These include refugee expenses, as well as writing off Third World debt, and scholarships for university students from developing countries.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Service Centre for Development Cooperation (KEPA)

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