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Document 52021DC0110

EU humanitarian action

Date of last review:
18/06/2021
Initial creation date:
28/10/2021
Summarised document(s):
Author:
Publications Office of the European Union
Responsible entity(ies):
Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)

EU humanitarian action

 

SUMMARY OF:

Commission communication on the EU’s humanitarian action: new challenges, same principles

Council conclusions on the Commission communication on the EU’s humanitarian action: new challenges, same principles

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE COMMUNICATION AND THE CONCLUSIONS?

  • Through the communication, the European Commission proposes a series of initiatives to strengthen the European Union’s (EU) global humanitarian action in order to meet the substantially rising humanitarian needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The conclusions set out the Council of the European Union’s position on EU humanitarian action in response to the communication.

KEY POINTS

Objectives

The communication sets out a number of key objectives to address growing humanitarian needs and support a better enabling environment for the delivery of principled humanitarian aid:

  • providing assistance according to the tried and tested principles of humanitarian aid;
  • ensuring that EU humanitarian aid can be delivered swiftly and efficiently to those in need, by leveraging innovation and capacities;
  • promoting flexible and efficient humanitarian action and funding mechanisms, by expanding the use of cash-based assistance and digital tools as well as by stepping up support to local responders;
  • tackling the root causes of crises by better linking humanitarian, development and peace efforts, in particular in priority areas like education, health, food security, disaster preparedness and climate resilience;
  • expanding the resource base for humanitarian action, by strengthening EU engagement and alliances with traditional and emerging donors;
  • enhancing the EU’s engagement and leadership to maximise the impact of the EU’s humanitarian action;
  • reinforcing the promotion and respect of international humanitarian law and putting it at the heart of the EU’s external action.

Key actions

The communication proposes a number of key actions to address these objectives and accomplish the goals set. These include:

  • developing a European Humanitarian Response Capacity that would be complementary to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and rely on the operational readiness of the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre;
  • undertaking systematic joint analyses of crises and develop, when appropriate, joined-up programming and planning of EU policies;
  • promoting effective humanitarian civil–military coordination to protect the humanitarian space;
  • increasing multiannual, flexible and harmonised funding arrangements;
  • stepping up humanitarian funding commitments with Member States and encouraging better responsibility-sharing among traditional and emerging donors to respond to growing humanitarian needs;
  • increasing the share of climate funds to make disaster-prone regions more resilient;
  • setting up an EU-level monitoring and coordination mechanism on international humanitarian law;
  • enhancing compliance with international humanitarian law as a condition for EU assistance;
  • ensuring that international humanitarian law is fully reflected in EU sanctions policy, including through the consistent inclusion of humanitarian exceptions in EU sanctions regimes;
  • organising a European Humanitarian Forum to encourage dialogue on humanitarian policy;
  • promoting a Team Europe approach among EU institutions and Member States.

Council conclusions

In its conclusions on the communication, the Council made a number of key points, including:

  • its serious concern at the unprecedented scale of humanitarian needs, the shrinking of humanitarian space and the growing funding gap;
  • the importance of putting respect for and compliance with international humanitarian law consistently at the heart of the EU’s external action, as well as ensuring the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, supporting and promoting principled humanitarian action and safeguarding humanitarian space;
  • the urgent need to enhance global efforts to significantly increase the resource base for humanitarian action, as well as the importance of delivering humanitarian aid more efficiently with available resources;
  • the essential coordinating role of the United Nations in responding to humanitarian crises, and the need to step up support for local and national actors, recognising their knowledge and experience as frontline responders that are in place before, during and after emergencies;
  • its support for the Commission’s plan to organise a European Humanitarian Forum.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the EU’s humanitarian action: new challenges, same principles (COM(2021) 110 final, 10.3.2021)

Council conclusions on the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the EU’s humanitarian action: new challenges, same principles, 20.5.2021

last update 18.06.2021

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