Public hearing: the debt crisis and debt relief for developing countries
The Committee on Development, in association with the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, will hold a public hearing on debt and development on 28 June.
MEPs Udo Bullmann (S&D, DE) and Charles Goerens (Renew, LU) will moderate the hearing, which is taking place alongside the 43rd session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. The hearing will analyse the debt crisis faced by developing countries, its impact on development, possible ways forward to allow for debt relief and debt reduction, and what action the EU and member states may be able to take to contribute to this process.
The twin impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine have dealt heavy blows to developing countries at a time when they were already struggling with unsustainable debt burdens. Many governments issued bonds, financed by local banks, to cushion themselves from the impact of COVID-19, leaving governments indebted to local banks and crowding out lending space for the private sector.
The public hearing will feature contributions from:
- Jason Rosario Braganza, Executive Director of AFRODAD
- Matthew Martin, Director of Development Finance International
- Attiya Waris, UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights
- Ishac Diwan, Director of Research at the Finance for Development Lab, Paris School of Economics
The full programme is available here.
WHEN: Wednesday 28 June at 14.30 CEST.
WHERE: Room 3C50 in the European Parliament’s SPAAK building in Brussels.
You can watch the meeting live here. (28.06.2023)
Contacts:
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Eoghan WALSH
Press Officer