Brussels - The EU is to wipe out hundreds of millions of dollars owed to it by some of the world's poorest countries, a move debt campaigners said demonstrated that the deal struck two years ago by Western lenders was inadequate.
As global leaders met in Brussels to discuss the worsening economic situation of the world's 49 least developed countries, the European Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, announced that the EU had decided to cancel all outstanding debts arising from its trade accords with former colonies of member states.