Despite Official Development Assistance (ODA) being a crucial expression of global solidarity, EU ODA continues to decline. With historic cuts from both EU Member States (MS) and EU Institutions, only three to four EU MS have met the 0.7% target in recent years, while countries like Belgium, Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands have announced further cuts. 

In 2025, more than one out of five euros counted as ODA did not reach Majority World countries. As a consequence, the real levels of public resources available for poverty and inequalities reduction are lower than the official figures. What does this mean for the future of the EU’s international development cooperation? Read CONCORD Europe‚s report and recommendations to find out.

Behind the Numbers

Between 2024 and 2025, EU ODA decreased by 11.4% in real terms. In spite of giving 47% of global ODA-neither EU Institutions nor Member States can credibly claim global leadership on sustainable development while cutting their ODA.

EU Institutions’ ODA fell by 13.8% compared to 2024 levels, the biggest decline in a decade. Member States have decreased their ODA steadily since the 2022 peak, and ODA as a share of gross national income (GNI) dropped from 0.47% in 2024 to 0.42% in 2025. This is the third consecutive decrease since 2022, reaching its lowest point since 2018.

Only Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark met or exceeded the 0.7 percent-target in 2025. Most  MS remained well below 0.3% with Czechia, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania even below 0.15%. Only six countries increased their ratio (Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden).

In 2025, more than one fifth of EU ODA does not meet the criteria to qualify as ODA as they lack a clear development objective and/or do not reach Majority World countries. Inflated ODA from MS amounted to EUR 16.5 billion, representing 22% of their total ODA.