The summer break is over and the EU is now buzzing and back to work. And with several ongoing policy process and events coming up, the next few months will be key for all development actors. Upcoming European Commission communications of aid effectiveness, budget support and inclusive growth are all on the cards, not to mention the negotiations on the EU’s budget for 2014-2020. There’s a busy few months ahead, and the results will determine whether the EU can continue playing a leading role in the international development agenda.

“Only bankers will save the world” read a poster depicting a superhero at the City’s biggest banker summer party. I wonder where these Banker superheroes were during the recent financial crisis? As a result of the financial crisis, around 120 million more people are now living on less than US$2 a day and 89 million more on less than US$1.25 a day. Despite the effects of financial crisis remaining for ordinary people (ongoing cuts, unemployment, donors cutting health and development programmes in poor countries) the City continues to celebrate its prosperity.

In June GAVI together with governments and private sector raised US$4.3bn to make new vaccines available for the poorest children in low and, hopefully, middle-income countries. Despite these times of financial austerity, it is encouraging that the political will of governments and generosity of the private sector contributed to higher than expected GAVI Conference financial pledges. It is now up to GAVI and its programme implementers to use these resources efficiently.