Development Finance Watch, Issue 119

This email is not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Issue 119, 23 May 2013   Dear Subscribers, We are using a new system to produce our newsletter. As part of this change, we will only be sending out one newsletter version in the future, rather than one short version and one long version. This means two things for you: If you previously subscribed to the extended version of the newsletter, you can still read the full articles by clicking on the Read more link at the end of each summary. To keep our records as up to date as possible, we would be grateful if you could take a minute to update your profile by clicking on the Update Profile link at the bottom of this newsletter. Enjoy your read! The Eurodad Team Top Story The good, the bad and the indecisive: EU leaders put tax centre stage at summit Yesterday’s European Council – the regular meeting of EU heads of state – was dominated by discussion of measures to combat tax evasion. Though there was emphasis on the importance of the EU’s upcoming Anti-Money Laundering Directive – a key opportunity to finally uncover the secret owners of companies – there was an awful lot of delay on automatic information exchange, and a glaring avoidance of anything constructive on tax havens. Read more News New Eurodad briefing paper on promoting responsible sovereign lending and borrowing How to make financing more responsible and ultimately a more effective driver of development has been a key concern for the development community in recent years. A new Eurodad briefing paper compares the UNCTAD Principles on Promoting Sovereign Lending and Borrowing with the Eurodad Responsible Finance Charter. It finds that the UNCTAD Principles, while less ambitious than the Eurodad Charter, offer a laudable step towards filling the gaping hole in the international financial architecture that has been caused by the lack of institutions to promote responsible financing. Read more New report raises alarm bells about World Bank investments in Vietnam’s financial sector  In early May, the UK-based organisation Global Witness published its latest report, Rubber Barons, which includes alarming ­findings about the impact of investments by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Vietnam’s financial sector. The report illustrates some of the failures highlighted in the recent Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman’s audit report and supports calls made by civil society organisations (CSOs) for a review of IFC lending to financial intermediaries. Read more EU finance ministers talk tough on tax evasion, but agree on little Last week’s European Union (EU) meeting of finance ministers in Brussels for the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) produced strong rhetoric about the importance of tackling tax evasion and tax fraud, but offered little in the way of concrete action. Important decisions to tackle financial secrecy were also delayed. Read more Blog How targeted government policy can help entrepreneurs in developing countries A recent study co-sponsored by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) highlights several policy decisions that governments can make in terms of public purchasing to foster the growth of domestic industries and services. The focus of this study is the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. However, many of their recommendations are transferable to other sectors. Read more Action Alert Sign a petition calling for the IMF to cancel Pakistan debts! Featured Member  IBIS is one of Denmark’s largest solidarity and development organisations. Through information, advocacy and campaigning, it aims to create greater understanding of the problems facing developing countries and highlights specific options for action for citizens and governments. Featured Resources  AidWatch Policy paper History is made as EU meets the 0.7% aid target in 2015 ChristianAid’s Hunger and tax report: how tax dodging feeds world hunger Jubilee Debt Campaign and Islamic Relief report: Unlocking the chains of debt – A call for debt relief for Pakistan   Facts & Figures Pakistan’s debt payments will rise dramatically to US$6 billion a year over the next three years, mainly due to the repayment of IMF loans. This is more than the country's combined spending on education and health. Jubilee Debt Campaign and Islamic Relief report: Unlocking the chains of debt – A call for debt relief for Pakistan   Eurodad in Action  Eurodad's Tove Maria Ryding gave a presentation at a workshop on capital flight and the global south at the Spring Conference of the Federation of Young European Greens.   Eurodad Mentions Eurodad is mentioned in CNCD’s report on international taxation issues (in French) Eurodad is mentioned in an article on the G20 in the Spanish newspaper El País   Events What: European Parliament Joint Hearing How can the EU deliver Better Aid? When: 30 May, 15:00-18:30 Where: Brussels, Belgium   Vacancies Eurodad seeks a new Senior Research Analyst, a new Communications and Funding Manager and a new Research, Events and Communications Assistant (Paid Internship) The Financial Transparency Coalition is looking for a Lead on EU Advocacy ActionAid is looking for an Advisor on Tax Justice based in Tanzania   If you have any feedback on articles, content suggestions  for future issues or other thoughts, please write to: assistant@eurodad.org Eurodad is a non-profit organisation based in Belgium. For a list of Eurodad member groups across Europe, or to join, visit our website  Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Forward to a friend  Copyright © 2013 Eurodad, All rights reserved.  Articles are available for re-use in other publications, as long as reference is made to the original source.  Mailing address: Rue d’Edimbourg, 18-26. Brussels 1050. Belgium  Unsubscribe from this list | Update your profile information