U2's Bono has denied those rumours that he is planning a second Live Aid style concert to raise money to tackle world debt. Speaking as he met European Union development ministers in Dublin yesterday, he told reporters: "We would love to be talking about Live Aid II, but the sums of money we are dealing with are in the billions of euros, not the millions. It would help, but not fix the problem."
Adding that the world is facing a "dangerous time", Bono called on the European Union to boost its aid efforts to help the world's poorest countries, and to keep past promises on debt and assistance. "Continental Africa is bursting into flames right now, there's an emergency going on and for me it's not really about charity at this point, it's about justice. A lot of people in Europe are doing great things, but a lot of promises have been broken."
Although supporting his work in the area of aid and debt, some EU officials cautioned Bono for depending too much on "scare stories" issued by non-governmental organisations, with one official telling reporters: "He was taken aback when he heard about the realities of what the EU is doing, and what the obstacles were. I think he was impressed, and learnt something".