Another Jubilee moment / Foreign Council conclusions and FfD4: the EU offer is not going to deliver the ambition needed
#Jubilee2025 #TurnDebtIntoHope #CancelTheDebt #MakePollutersPay #FfD4 #GlobalGateway #EraOfJustice
Top story
Another Jubilee moment
25 years after Jubilee 2000 and the world’s largest petition (24.1 million signatures) for debt cancellation, debt is back on activists’ minds. In the midst of another debt crisis, with lower-income country debt payments at their highest level in 30 years, there is a new Jubilee debt campaign. The reasons are not that different and people are once again paying dearly for the lack of a fair international debt architecture. However, this year offers the opportunity to turn it around.
Read the blog by Kjetil Abildsnes (Eurodad)
Sign the debt petition
News
Hedge funds cash in while Ukraine is in war - civil society calls for legal protection from speculators
Ukrainian and European civil society organisations are warning that hedge funds could make billions out of Ukraine, financed indirectly by Western aid. In a statement released today the campaigners call for legal protections to ensure speculators cannot demand billions of dollars in payment from 'GDP-linked warrants' which are pre-war issued bonds associated with economic growth.
Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions: The EU offer is not going to deliver the ambition needed for Sevilla
On Monday 26 May, civil society organisations in Brussels called on European countries to raise their ambition after the release of a ‘deeply disappointing’ collective EU position in the Council Conclusions ‘ahead of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development’, taking place in Spain next month.
Read the press release | See the "Blogs" section below for an OpEd on the same topic
As EU surtax on fossil fuel profits ends, European Commission report reveals it generated €28 billion of additional public revenue
An EU surtax on fossil fuel industries’ profits, which was limited to the fiscal years 2022 and 2023, generated an estimated €28 billion of additional tax revenues for EU Member States. This figure has been published by the European Commission in its assessment of the so-called ‘solidary contribution’, a profit top-up levy on energy undertakings in the oil, gas, coal, and refinery sector with businesses in the EU.
Reports
Global debt sovereign monitor 2025
by erlassjahr
Published every year, this report analyses the current burden of foreign debt to countries worldwide as well as Germany's role in international debt relief policy. The study finds that global external debt remains at a very high level in 2025. Enormous interest and principal payments, unfavorable refinancing conditions and structural inequalities in the international financial system are exacerbating social inequality and economic instability in many countries.
The human cost of public cuts in Africa
by ActionAid
This new report reveals that deep cuts to public spending in education and health across six African countries have seen workers struggling to afford essentials like food and resulted in overcrowded classrooms and failing healthcare.
Wired for inequalities: EU energy partnerships and the Global Gateway
by Counter Balance
Global Gateway’s energy partnerships frequently prioritise EU energy security, private-led investment models, and corporate interests. These models risk marginalising local communities, underfunding essential infrastructure, and exacerbating social and environmental harm—such as land grabbing, water overuse, and the erosion of public access to affordable, sustainable energy.
Blogs
The trillion dollar question — what next for EU financing for development?
by Christina Fenandez-Duran (Oxfam EU), Javier García de la Oliva (ActionAid International) and Jean Saldanha (Eurodad)
EU member states are feeling the heat to come up with a credible offer for the UN Financing for Development Conference, set to take place in Seville at the end of June. The EU is under pressure to honour its commitments to multilateralism and stand up against attacks on sustainable development within the UN’s system. The question is whether the EU will demonstrate the political will to do so, and whether Spain, as host country, can move the bloc forward.
Read the blog (via EUobserver)
The global gateway to nowhere
by Alexandra Gerasimcikova (Rosa Luxemburg Foundation) and Paul Okumu (Africa Platform)
European development aid has entered a new phase of the European Union’s neocolonialist agenda. Its “Global Gateway” plan is a wishlist for infrastructure projects to be launched across the world by European companies, backed by liberal reforms to pave the way. At its heart: Africa, where at least half of all investments are set to land.
Useful resources
Navigating sovereign debt crisis and legal battles amid political instability: Afreximbank vs South Sudan
by the African Sovereign Debt Justice Network (AfSDJN)
South Sudan is currently embroiled in a complex legal and financial dispute with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), which seeks to recover USD$657 million in trade and pandemic-related facilities in debts from the South Sudanese government. This update situates the legal proceedings in South Sudan’s rising debt burden and political challenges, highlighting the continuous trend of foreign courts being designated as applied jurisdictions for dispute resolution when African countries/financial institutions are parties.
Read the article | Read a press release by Debt Justice UK
Webinar: Mobilising African support for an intergovernmental process at FfD4 to establish a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt
by AFRODAD
Numerous African countries continue to face unsustainable debt, and servicing costs have doubled over the past decade, with governments allocating a larger share of revenue towards interest payments, thus limiting spending on essential public services. This webinar delved into the issues that directly impact the sovereignty of developing countries.
Events
30 May | Online | Advocacy and activism in global governance: what lessons?
In what ways can historical critiques of neoliberalism help shape more democratic, inclusive and sustainable approaches to international policymaking today? Organised by the Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, this webinar brings together policymakers,advocates and academics to discuss the history of grassroots activism targeting global governance institutions and how it can inform the current efforts to reform international financial and development institutions.
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This newsletter has been produced with co-funding from the European Union, Bread for the World and Norad. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Eurodad and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the funders. |
