This year’s European Development Days (EDD13) will focus on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the need for a strong common European position to addressing global poverty and sustainable development after 2015.  The topic is very timely as 2015 (the MDGs target date) is fast approaching, and also in the light of last week’s UN Special Event in New York on the MDGs. Remarkable progress has been achieved in the fight against poverty thanks to the MDGs, but a lot remains to be done.  Entitled ‘A decent life for all by 2030 – Building a consensus for a new development agenda’ EDD13 will provide a unique opportunity for stakeholders, donors and key players in development to come together to contribute to the EU vision for development, post-2015.

Organised by the European Commission, the EDD are widely regarded as one of the key events in the international development calendar. This year’s high-level event will host José María Neves, Prime Minister of Cape Verde; Ollanta Humala, President of Peru, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf President of Liberia; Joyce Banda, President of Malawi; Ms Fowsiyo Yussuf Haji Aadan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia; Dr Dipu Moni, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh; Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the World Trade Organization, amongst others.

The EU institutions will be represented by European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and EU Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, as well as other EU Commissioners. Other guests include EU ministers, representatives of UN institutions, civil society, academia and the private sector.

The event will take place in Brussels on 26th and 27th November at the Tour & Taxis