The European Union is the world's leading donor of development aid. In 2001 it committed over €9 billion from the EU budget alone. The EU is also the world's largest provider of humanitarian aid, working in areas of conflict and natural disaster. Labour MEPs are extremely active at European level to ensure that these funds are spent on projects which alleviate poverty in the developing world and promote international justice and human rights.

Trade: A Fair Deal for the Developing World

Access to medicines: Labour MEPs have backed developing countries in their call for access to essential medicines for the millions who suffer from killer diseases such as AIDS, TB and malaria which together kill 6m people every year in the developing world. The high cost of treatment currently diverts a family's money from food or education, or means that they delay seeking help because they can't afford to pay for vital medicines.

Transparency on services (GATS): We have joined with NGOs like Oxfam in demanding greater transparency in trade in services (GATS agreement). We strongly believe that countries must be free to protect their public services from the full force of the free market.

Reform of farm policy: The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the equivalent of paying £1.25 a day for every cow in Europe, when 1.2 billion people in the developing world live on half that amount. Labour MEPs are pushing for change in international trade rules and for the right of developing countries to produce and sell in a fair way to the EU. Reform of the CAP is central to achieving this.

A fair price for commodities: Developing countries are heavily dependent on selling commodities such as coffee, bananas, and sugar, and the impact of subsidies and falling markets is enormous. In the case of coffee, world prices have collapsed and 25 million coffee-dependent poor farmers are suffering. Coffee-producing countries receive less than eight cents of every dollar spent on coffee. With Ugandan coffee farmers receiving only 2.5% of the retail price of their coffee that is sold in the UK, Labour MEPs have joined the call for farmers to be paid a fair price for what they grow, to enable them to feed their families, send their children to school and pay for health care.

Market access for poorest nations: The European Union's “Everything but Arms Initiative”, which was adopted in 2001, lets all products from the very poorest countries in the world - except armaments - enter European markets duty and quota free. Whilst extensions were granted for bananas, rice and sugar, this was a step in the right direction, allowing developing countries better access to EU markets.

Development Policy: Poverty and Human Rights at top of the Agenda

Education: 125 million children worldwide – two thirds of them girls – are not in school, and nearly a billion adults are illiterate, again two thirds are women. Education is one of the most effective weapons in the fight against global poverty. Achieving universal primary education by 2015 is a key priority in the Millennium Development Goals. Labour MEPs have been active in the Education For All Initiative and the Campaign for Global Education, pushing for the right to education for all children which will have a huge impact on their, and their country's, future.

Health: Each day, 36,000 children in the developing world die from preventable diseases and hunger. Life expectancy in some African countries now stands at just 37. Labour MEPs have made the case for significant EU contributions to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and malaria, a key part of achieving the Millennium Development Goal to combat these killer diseases.

Elections: The EU is actively involved in international election observation. EU Observers monitor election processes from preparation of electoral registers to polling day activity and vote counts, to identify whether election campaigns have been carried out in free and fair conditions. These are important steps in the democratic process.

Human Rights: Labour MEPs are extremely active in promoting human rights both within the EU and across the world. We have asked that trade and association agreements between the EU and other countries include specific human rights clauses. We are also involved in specific actions in individual cases as well as in individual countries. Most recently, Labour MEPs have been involved in lobbying the UK and other EU governments for stronger joint policies against the regimes in Zimbabwe and Burma.