International framework

Developed countries, nowadays, form a rather small minority within international community. The developing world still constitutes the majority of the world population, living under conditions of extreme poverty. Despite the amelioration of certain general living conditions as well as the increase of the global wealth and technological potentialities, this part of the world remains extremely vulnerable to diseases, poverty natural disasters and state authoritarianism. More than 30.000 children die everyday of diseases, which cannot be combated.

This horrible aspect of reality entails a major ethical, political and social issue of our times. The phenomenon of extreme poverty, which jeopardizes development and welfare, constitutes the fundamental cause of contemporary threats to international security, namely violent conflicts, trafficking in human beings, firearms, drugs etc.

Thus, combating poverty, diseases, illiteracy and famine emerges as a major priority for international community, since world population is estimated to increase, in the next 25 years, to 2 billions more. Ninety-seven per cent of the increase of population will take place in developing countries.

On the international level, the framework of international development assistance is based upon the following cornerstones and institutions:
 The Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals
 The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness
 The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of OECD
 The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
 United Nations Development Programme

On the E.U. level, development is a fundamental priority sector for almost all its institutions. In specific:
Within the framework of the European Commission , development and humanitarian aid consists the basic competence of the following institutions:

 EuropeAid
 Directorate General for Development 
European Community Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO)

Within the framework of the European Parliament, the competent authority is the Committee on Development .