Debate: New orientations for the EU’s humanitarian action
Date: TUESDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2021
Speaker: Janez Lenarčič
Language: EN

In view of recent worrying trends, this is also a very timely report. According to the latest global humanitarian overview, nearly 274 million people are now in urgent need of humanitarian aid. At the beginning of this year, the number was 235 million. Meanwhile, the donor base remains far too narrow. A small number of donors provide the overwhelming bulk of humanitarian aid. That is the case globally, but also within the European Union, and the gap between existing needs and the available resources is growing ever further.  More needs to be done to address this funding gap and to support those in need. This is why the European Commission adopted a communication on EU humanitarian action earlier this year. That communication is there to keep adapting, rethinking and improving our approach for the EU to stay at the forefront of global humanitarian action in the interest of the most vulnerable people that we want to help. Honourable Members, I am pleased to confirm that we are already taking concrete steps to address many of the priorities that feature in this report. First, the Commission is pushing to expand the resource base both within and outside the European Union. Of course this requires a sustained effort over time within Europe and internationally, and it goes without saying that this House, this Parliament, can be of great help. We are currently engaging within the European Union with like-minded and non-traditional humanitarian donors, to grow the overall pool of humanitarian resources available. In the meantime, we will continue working to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian aid by embracing innovative digital tools and by resorting more to anticipatory funds.  In line with the grand bargain commitments, the Commission is also focusing on the quality of funding. We know that it must be more predictable. We know that it must be more flexible and better suited to local needs so as to provide the greatest possible impact for people in need. We are working on this. We have just launched new multiannual pilot programmatic partnerships with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, with UNICEF and with the FAO. These come next to the full programmatic partnerships that we already have in place with NGOs since last year. Second, to ensure that our aid is delivered swiftly the Commission is developing a new European humanitarian response capacity. This will address potential gaps whenever traditional channels are unavailable, and it will be built on the example of the EU humanitarian airbridge by embracing a Team Europe approach.  The report also emphasises the importance of international humanitarian law, and this brings me to my third point. We are putting compliance with international humanitarian law at the heart of the EU’s external action. For example, the Commission is setting up a new EU-level coordination mechanism. Our goal is to improve reporting on possible violations around the world and strengthen compliance. We are also advocating for the consistent inclusion of humanitarian exceptions in EU sanctions regimes. The EU is committed to avoiding any negative impact of restrictive measures on vulnerable people. In parallel, the European Union is calling for unrestricted and unimpeded humanitarian access to people in need. We have done so, for example in the cases of Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Myanmar.  The Commission is also pressing forward with the fourth strand of work – the localisation of humanitarian aid. We plan to engage even more with local actors, including women-led groups, to improve their own-preparedness, response and resilience. In the face of climate change, resilience more than ever needs to be at the heart of our work in the regions systematically impacted by disasters and emergencies.  And lastly, we will continue to address the drivers of the humanitarian needs by linking short-term assistance with long term solutions. We all agree that humanitarian aid alone cannot put an end to conflicts or crises and this is why we remain focused on putting the humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach into practice, and we are expanding on the work already in place.  Honourable Members, let me take this opportunity to reaffirm my commitment to engage with all of you as we pursue our common goal of providing relief to those in need. I would like to most warmly thank honourable Norbert Neuser for his work not only on this report, but as the standing rapporteur for humanitarian aid. I have greatly appreciated your strong commitment to EU humanitarian action. Thank you once again for your very good and timely report, and I look forward to our discussion.