EU remains top aid donor in 2006: OECD

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union remained the world's biggest aid donor last year but members Greece, Italy and Portugal fell well short of their goals, according to data to be published Tuesday.

The EU donated 0.42 percent of gross domestic product -- or 48 billion euros (64 billion dollars) -- in development aid, an EU official said Monday, citing data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The bloc's target for 2006 had been to give 0.39 percent of GDP.

The EU donated some 36 billion euros in 2004, with the Democratic Republic of Congo the biggest recipient.

The official said the EU had provided 57 percent of the world's aid. By comparison, Japan donated 0.25 percent of its GDP last year while the United States gave 0.17 percent.

The 15 oldest EU countries had set themselves individual targets of 0.33 percent, and Greece was at the foot of the table among developed countries with 0.16 percent.

Italy fared slightly better but still only managed 0.20 percent with Portugal just above at 0.21 percent.

Highest-ranked among the group of 15 were Sweden with 1.03 percent, Luxembourg at 0.89 percent and the Netherlands with 0.81 percent.

The EU official said that the 48-billion euro total for 2006 included one-off debt cancellations for Iraq and Nigeria, which accounted for around one quarter of that figure.