New outlook for EU's global aid delivery challenged by COVID-19

Today, the Commission has proposed to strengthen the European Union's global humanitarian impact in order to meet the substantially rising humanitarian needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Communication proposes a series of key actions to expedite the provision of humanitarian aid by expanding the resource base, supporting a better enabling environment for humanitarian partners and addressing the root causes of crises through a ‘Team Europe' approach. It highlights a renewed focus on international humanitarian law (IHL) and also sets out to tackle the dramatic humanitarian impact of climate change.
High Representative/Vice President, Josep Borrell, said: “Today, the average humanitarian crisis lasts more than 9 years, some even longer. Many risk being 'forgotten' such as Yemen or Syria. But the EU does not forget. Humanitarian aid is one of the most tangible examples of the EU's external action and proof of our solidarity. Respect for International Humanitarian Law must be at the heart of our foreign policy more than ever to support principled humanitarian action and to protect civilians as well as the humanitarian workers who risk their lives to protect them around the world.”
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: "In a world where the footprint of crises is expanding rapidly and the principles of humanitarian aid are being challenged as rarely before, the EU's global responsibility as a humanitarian actor has never been more important. This comes regrettably as needs rise to an all-time high but the global donor base remains disturbingly narrow. We need to deliver better, by boosting the efficiency and impact of our humanitarian action. We need to be able to react with full force as soon as crises emerge. This renewed strategic outlook spells out how the EU can step up to help those most in need and show leadership at a time when the delivery of principled aid is acutely needed.
The EU will set up a new European Humanitarian Response Capacity in order to intervene directly in humanitarian crises, when traditional humanitarian delivery mechanisms via EU partners or their capacities may be ineffective or insufficient. This will aim to facilitate logistics including transport, enabling the pooling of resources and facilitating their deployment in the field. This capacity could, for instance, offer logistical assessments, support for initial deployment and procurement, stockpiling, transporting and/or distributing relief items, including COVID-19 vaccines and their delivery in fragile countries. It will work in coordination and complementarity with the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, relying on the operational support of the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre. /BGNES