Undersecretary supports Parliament proposal to raise additional funds for development cooperation

Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Vincenzo Scotti, hinted to the possibility that the drastic reduction to development cooperation appropriations could be partially avoided by using the early debt reimbursement by Argentina and increase State excises on alcohol and tobacco, as proposed by the parliamentary amendments.

The bipartisan amendment is to raise 250 million euro to increase the ODA appropriation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with an increase in alcohol and tobacco excise by 0,015 euros.

Additional 200 million euro could derive from the early reimbursement of the Argentina debt. The amount stemming from concessional loans is not clear yet - 200 or 250 million euros. However its reimbursement will negatively affect the Italian ODA - as it is counted as a negative flow. Hence its immediate disbursement is not an actual increase but a one-off measure to get a zero-sum result. It is also important to highlight that the financial resources from Argentina reimbursement - not available yet - are already ODA resources, namely concessional loans that are turned into grants to ease its disbursement. However, if this proposal turns into reality, this means that National Accounting Office changed its advice, as in the past it was always opposed to this kind of actions.

However, the current ODA cut under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs amounts at -411 million euros, and the two proposals could avoid the cut in 2009, while a 200 million cut will affect future years. For the time being the are proposals awaiting to be approved.