The European Commission will be making an initial contribution of 120 million euro to the Global Health Fund, a multi-partner initiative designed to help fund improvements in health systems necessary to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The EC will then agree a new Regulation on communicable diseases, which will give it a proper legal base for spending on such issues. This will allow it to allocate regular resources to the Fund in the future.

On 25 July, the EC adopted its new White Paper on European Governance which proposes far-reaching changes to the way the Union works. The Paper starts by setting out five principles of good governance which should underpin all EU policy making: namely openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness and coherence. It then puts forward a number of concrete proposals for Commission action. At a press conference for the Paper’s launch, Romano Prodi said, ‘We simply cannot go on as we are. The White Paper is not an instant cure for everything, but it is a serious attempt to address the concerns that many people have.’ The Paper also launched a wider consultative process regarding further action, which will run until 31 March 2002. The full text of the Paper is available at
http://europa.eu.int/comm/governance/whatsnew.htm

Early indications from the Spanish suggest that one of the highlights of their Presidency is likely to be a practical debate on how to make EC aid more efficient on the ground. This debate is one of the personal priorities of the Spanish State Secretary for Development, Miguel Angel Cortes, and is intended to address issues of good governance, corruption, human rights, and governability in recipient states. It is also hoped that the debate will lead to agreement on mechanisms to improve efficiency, and ensure that EC aid donation runs parallel with political dialogue