On 1 June 2010, Mr. Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development, received an EPF parliamentary delegation composed of three EPF Executive Committee members, Hon. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria), Hon. Minna Sirnö, MP (Finland) and Hon. Antonia García Vals, MP (Spain). Marieke Boot from DG Development of the European Commission, Elina Melngaile, member of the Commissioner’s Cabinet as well as Neil Datta, EPF Secretary, and Miguel Ongil, EPF Programme Officer also participated in the meeting.

The parliamentary delegation of EPF conveyed to the Commissioner the importance of SRHR in development and the necessity to empower women in developing countries as a transformative drive to accomplish not only MDG 5, reduction of maternal mortality by three quarters, but all the other MDGs. Parliamentarians also discussed with Commissioner Piebalgs the importance for Europe to have a strong stance on SRHR in both the G-8 Summit and the UN Summit in New York in September. EPF Executive Committee members also raised the attention to the under-funding of reproductive health and more concretely to the under-funding of family planning as well as how the new funding modalities haven’t proven to be so effective in reducing maternal mortality. Commissioner Piebalgs added that we have failed collectively to reduce maternal mortality and we need to focus on the most off-track MDGs such as child, newborn and maternal mortality. The time is right to focus on maternal health the Commissioner added and that new funding for maternal health has to be on the agenda.

The intervention of Parliamentarians was followed by a lively exchange of views where the Commissioner showed supportive of the RH/FP agenda and active in the areas of women empowerment. Concerning Maternal Mortality, the Commissioner stressed the necessity to concentrate in countries where most maternal deaths occur, such as India. Regarding budget support, the Commissioner mentioned that country ownership cannot lead to donors not meeting their objectives and it shouldn’t serve as an excuse for not delivering in certain areas. In this line, the Commissioner supports the development of health systems and he raised the possibility of re-thinking budget support, as some sectors are chronically neglected and moving towards sector budget support. In addition, he would take a critical look at some ODA spending in regions where it might not be necessary, as for instance in the context of the EU Neighbourhood policy.