European Parliament
President.
Question No 46 by Patricia McKenna 
Subject: Debt cancellation for low-income countries
What steps is the Commission taking to tackle the issue of debt cancellation for low-income countries? With regard to the Irish Government’s endorsement of 100% cancellation of the debts of the poorest countries, which recognises the need to attend to countries suffering from a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and also calls for a greater degree of accountability to be placed on human development issues when assessing the amount of debt a country is able to repay, what is the Commission’s view of such a debt policy? Is it foreseeable that the Commission will take formal steps to establish a European policy of debt cancellation for low income countries, and when in the future could this be expected?

