E. whereas the maternal mortality rate in Mali, estimated at 1 100 deaths per 100 000 live births, is the highest in the world according to UN data; whereas the UN Human Development Report 2013 singles out Niger and Mali as having particularly high mortality rates among children under the age of five, with the rate rising above 200 deaths per 1 000 live births where mothers are lacking any education; whereas the World Bank estimate of primary school enrolment rates for Niger and Mali are among the worst in the world, standing at 62 % and 63 % respectively; whereas the UN estimates that some 18 million people were affected by the sever ...[+++]e food and nutrition crisis of 2012 in the Sahel and West Africa; whereas the Commission estimates that in 2013, 10.3 million people in the region are still facing food insecurity, of whom 4.2 million are Malians, with 1.4 million children under the age of five at risk of severe acute malnutrition and another 3.1 million at risk of moderate acute malnutrition; whereas the Commission has been instrumental in the establishment of the Global Alliance for Resilience Initiative in the Sahel (AGIR-Sahel) and pledged EUR 517 million in humanitarian and development aid for 2012-2013;

“Birmingham has higher rates of fuel poverty than any core city and the West Midlands has higher rates than any other region, so it’s vital we get on with equipping our homes with as many green measures as possible, as quickly as we can.

Some delegations expressed support for this proposal as it stands while others made a number of suggestions for a higher standard rate and higher rates for operations contributing to the objectives of environment and climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as risk management and innovation.

4. Ascertains from the Agency that the implementation rate of the Union contribution followed the previous year's trend and remained at 100 %, and that the budget execution rate in terms of payments reached 61,65 % in 2010 compared to 60,64 % in 2009; notes with concern that under Title III (Operational expenditure) the budget execution rate in terms of payments reached only 28,08 %; therefore calls on the Agency to make further efforts and to take appropriate actions to ensure a greater level of budget execution in terms of payment, in particular under Title III;

4. Ascertains from the Agency that the implementation rate of the Union contribution followed the previous year's trend and remained at 100 %, and that the budget execution rate in terms of payments reached 61,65 % in 2010 compared to 60,64 % in 2009; notes with concern that under Title III (Operational expenditure) the budget execution rate in terms of payments reached only 28,08 %; therefore calls on the Agency to make further efforts and to take appropriate actions to ensure a greater level of budget execution in terms of payment, in particular under Title III;

11. Notes that the real economic growth in the European Union is characterised by old and new divergences, with the lowest growth rates in Portugal (1,2 % of GDP) and Italy (1,7 %), and high growth rates among the EU-15 in Spain (3,8 %), Greece (3,8 %) and, in particular, Sweden (4%), Finland (4,9 %) and Luxembourg (5,5 %); notes that the new Member States are registering particularly high growth rates in Slovakia (6,7 %), Lithuania (7,8 %), Estonia (10,5 %) and Latvia (11%); underlines that these divergences also reflect important structural differences, different domestic economic policies and demographic structures as well as asymmetric impacts of common policies, illustrating underlying risks to the European Union's internal cohesion; ...[+++] therefore stresses the need for policies that strengthen economic cohesion and thus foster the internal market and monetary union;