How the €2 million spent on the EDD could have been used more wisely (updated)

Published: 04 December 2010

As I was sipping coffee and enjoying free cakes while traveling first class -paid with public money- from Paris to Brussels, I wondered: how much are the EDDs (European development days) going to cost?

The answer came from Meagan Baldwin, policy manager of Concord, a confederation of 1600 NGOs working on development issues. "Two million euros will be spent for two days of chatting, with no clear objective", she protested. Far from proving her wrong, the official website of the event only states that "the European Development Days are a policy forum which highlights recent developments and important initiatives “to be continued"".

Roeland Scholtalbers, media & communication officer as Cidse (Coopération internationale pour le développement et la solidarité) is less pessimistic: "The EDDs aren't only a place where you can enjoy cocktails, it's a platform to exchange views and promote your messages for development".

Ok then, let's talk about development. Here's what this two-million euros could have bought.

Update (December 5th): It is important to know that the cost of the EDDs is covered by the communication budget of the European commission, it's not money which would have been used for development aid. But it's still public money, so the topic of its purpose remains legitimate.

And you, what would you do with so much money to spend on development issues?