COM(2022)0647
EUR-Lex

SWD(2022)0352

SWD(2021)0312

COM(2021)0659
EUR-Lex

COM(2020)0358
EUR-Lex

The Commission presents its annual report on the European Union's humanitarian aid policies and their implementation in 2018.

Humanitarian crises have increased in complexity and severity over the last decades. Conflict remained the main driver of humanitarian needs, while natural disasters continued to result in many people needing emergency aid. In 2018, over 134 million people needed assistance.

The European Commission was at the forefront of the EU's response to crises, funding humanitarian aid operations for more than EUR 1.8 billion (UN humanitarian appeal was USD 25.4 billion) in over 90 countries with particular focus on supporting conflict-affected populations inside Syria and refugees in neighbouring countries.

Main findings in 2018

- Emergency Toolbox : the Acute Large Emergency Response Tool (ALERT) provided EUR 8.65 million to respond to severe floods in Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria, earthquakes and a tsunami in Indonesia and the effects of a tropical cyclone in the Philippines. The Epidemics Tool provided urgent funding for five outbreaks: Lassa fever (Nigeria), Ebola (DRC), cholera (Djibouti, Niger and Zimbabwe). The amount disbursed was EUR 2.775 million. The Small-scale Tool was used to respond to seven disasters of a total of EUR 2.225 million, namely: Tonga (tropical storm), Nigeria (refugee movement), Nicaragua (civil unrest), Guatemala (volcano eruption), Laos (dam collapse), Venezuela (floods) and Haiti (earthquake).

- Syria : in 2018, the Syria crisis entered its eighth year. The Commission delivered life-saving assistance, mainly by providing food, medicine, water and shelter. The Commission’s actions benefited populations inside Syria as well as Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. The Commission’s humanitarian assistance amounted to EUR 260 million.

- Turkey : in June 2018, the EU agreed on providing an additional EUR 3 billion for the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey to support Syrian refugees. Under this second tranche, EUR 550 million were committed in 2018, out of which EUR 50 million for humanitarian aid, mainly on protection and health. This brought the overall humanitarian funding contracted under the Facility to over EUR 1.45 billion.

The Facility's flagship humanitarian programme, the Emergency Social Safety Net, continued to address basic needs and protection needs of 1.7 million beneficiaries. This was the largest single humanitarian project in the history of the EU.

- Ukraine : after more than four years of conflict, humanitarian needs persisted in 2018 in eastern Ukraine. The conflict affected over 4.4 million people, out of which at least 3.4 million were in need of humanitarian assistance. The EU and its Member States remained one of the largest humanitarian donor, with a total of EUR 232 million of support.

- Yemen : Yemen was the largest humanitarian crisis worldwide with 22.2 million people in need of assistance in 2018. During 2018, the Commission scaled up its response to the crisis by providing EUR 127.5 million of life-saving assistance to more than 14 million vulnerable people.

- Africa : 2018 saw the worst food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel in many years. The Commission provided emergency assistance for a total amount of EUR 272.9 million for the various countries affected. In the Central African Republic, close to 2 million were suffering from acute food insecurity, and two thirds of the population had no access to basic healthcare. About one in four citizens was forcibly displaced, either internally or to neighbouring countries (Cameroon, Chad and the DRC). The Commission allocated over EUR 33 million of humanitarian assistance to the crisis.

- Venezuela : the living conditions of the population deteriorated due to a socio-economic and political crisis. Lack of medicines, combined with a dramatic reduction of the health system's capacity, resulted in a growing number of people lacking treatment. By the end of 2018, over 3.2 million people had left the country mainly for Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. A total of EUR 32 million was allocated by the EU for provision of notably health and nutritional services, water and sanitation, protection, EiE, as well as support to host communities. This amount includes EUR 7 million of EDF increase to support the pressing humanitarian needs.

- Rohingya crisis : after the massive displacement in 2017, about one million stateless refugees resided in 2018 in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. The EU provided EUR 46 million in humanitarian assistance for the crisis, both in Bangladesh and Myanmar, in the form of basic health care, water, sanitation, shelter, nutrition, protection, psychological support and disaster risk reduction assistance.

Horizontal priorities

Education in Emergencies (EiE) : in 2018 the European Commission dedicated 8.5% of its humanitarian budget to EiE activities in 34 countries (for an amount of EUR 91.6 million) thus surpassing the 8% target for the year. The Commission also adopted a Communication on EiE and protracted crises in May 2018. The new policy framework will enable the EU to leverage resources more predictably, flexibly and effectively based on a holistic and coordinated humanitarian-development nexus approach and clear strategic priorities.

COM(2020)0006
EUR-Lex

This Commission staff working document sets out the general guidelines on operational priorities for humanitarian aid in 2020.

The report stressed that while global humanitarian needs are dramatically increasing, funding is not. It is estimated that more than 141 million people across the world need humanitarian assistance and protection – and more funding than ever before is required to help them. It is therefore essential to identify and focus on main priorities and respect the guiding principles, on which the EU's humanitarian budgetary allocations are determined.

In 2020, EU humanitarian aid will continue to focus on supporting those most in need following sudden-onset, protracted and forgotten crises.

Priority areas

Efforts will continue to focus on the following areas:

- multi-sectoral emergency assistance and protection for populations affected by conflict;

- nutrition support to help reduce excessive morbidity and mortality of children under five in areas where severe acute malnutrition has reached the emergency threshold;

- adequate food assistance to populations facing severe food insecurity;

- support to enhancing preparedness and response capacity in high-risk areas;

- emergency response to epidemics and natural disasters as appropriate.

In addition to the direct action to help those most in need, efforts will continue to draw high-level attention on the urgent need to strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable populations in the Sahel and implement the Humanitarian-Development Nexus on a large scale.

Programmable funding should be mobilised in addition to emergency funding in order to maintain access to basic services for the population and reduce the risks on social cohesion. Interventions will primarily cover vulnerable populations in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria. In addition, Disaster Risk Reduction will be supported in some of these countries. In all West and Central Africa countries, a response to epidemics and new emergencies can be provided as appropriate; if important unmet humanitarian needs emerge.

Operational objectives and budget planning

The report noted that the general EU budget earmarked on the budget lines for humanitarian aid/food assistance and disaster preparedness is EUR 896 154 500. This amount is to be used to finance humanitarian aid operations aiming essentially to:

- provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable people affected by natural disasters, man-made crises or exceptional situations, which have entailed or are likely to continue entailing major loss of life, physical and psychological or social suffering or material damage;

- provide first initial response to cover the immediate needs of the most vulnerable in the days after a large scale emergency or a sudden onset humanitarian crisis as well as humanitarian assistance for response and disaster preparedness to populations affected by disasters where a small scale response is adequate and to populations affected by epidemic outbreaks;

- improve the conditions for delivering humanitarian aid by supporting transport services to ensure that aid is accessible to beneficiaries;

- increase the coherence, quality and effectiveness of humanitarian aid through e.g. the development of innovative approaches, methodologies, tools, the support to capacity building, coordination and preparedness development of innovative approaches, methodologies, tools, the support to coordination and preparedness.

EUR-Lex
SWD(2019)0421

The Commission presents its annual report on the European Union's humanitarian aid policies and their implementation in 2016.

It is prepared pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 concerning humanitarian aid, which requires the Commission to submit an annual report to the European Parliament and to the Council with a summary of the operations financed in the course of the preceding year.

In 2016, humanitarian crises increased in number, complexity and severity. There were over 50 armed conflicts, with little or no improvement in the most severe largescale crises such as those in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan or the Lake Chad region.

Natural disasters – linked to mega-trends such as climate change, urbanisation and demographic pressures – have in recent years created humanitarian needs for an estimated 26 million people every year. Overall, more than 95 million people in 40 countries were in need of humanitarian assistance in 2016, and almost 65 million people (half of them children) were forcibly displaced – more than ever before.

Against this dramatic background, the EU's humanitarian aid budget in 2016 was the highest ever, at EUR 1.8 billion .

Main findings in 2016 :

The Syria crisis : a significant proportion of the EU's humanitarian budget in 2016 went on supporting refugees in the countries most directly affected by the crisis in Syria, as well as people inside Syria in need of humanitarian assistance. The Commission thus allocated EUR 454 million to humanitarian operations in Syria and neighbouring countries, in line with the pledges made at the London conference of February 2016. Inside Syria, almost half of the Commission's humanitarian assistance went to immediate life-saving and emergency humanitarian operations. In Jordan and Lebanon , EU humanitarian funding has contributed to cash assistance for the most vulnerable refugees, lifesaving secondary healthcare, non-formal education, shelter as well as water, hygiene and sanitation. Efforts also focused on strong advocacy at international level for unhindered humanitarian access, protection of refugees and respect for international humanitarian law. The EU also put in place the Facility for Refugees in Turkey , to help respond to the needs of the three million refugees hosted by Turkey. The EUR 1.4 billion humanitarian leg of the Facility for 2016 and 2017 is focused on supporting mainly out-of-camp refugees (who make up the vast majority of refugees in Turkey, and are also the most vulnerable). To this end, the Commission – working through the World Food Programme and the Turkish Red Crescent – launched the EU's biggest-ever humanitarian project, the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), aiming to provide monthly cash transfers to one million of the most vulnerable refugees via debit cards . Africa : as in previous years, the response to humanitarian crises in Africa was another significant part of the EU's humanitarian assistance, with particular focus on the complex emergencies across the Sahel and Horn of Africa as well as the Lake Chad region, where food security crises were overlaid with a number of protracted conflicts. Overall, the Commission allocated EUR 747 million to crises in sub-Saharan Africa. The largest allocations went to Sudan and South Sudan (EUR 192 million) and to the Horn of Africa (EUR 203 million), as well as West Africa (EUR 140 million). Iraq, the wider Middle East and North Africa : the EU played a key role in providing assistance to the victims of the conflict in Iraq (EUR 159 million) and was at the forefront of international advocacy efforts. Furthermore, the EU continued to provide significant support to humanitarian operations in Yemen (EUR 70 million), as well as in Palestine (EUR 25 million). Ukraine : the EU remained one of the largest humanitarian donors in the Ukraine crisis. In total, EUR 28.4 million was mobilized for the EU's humanitarian response to the crisis. Emergency Toolbox : the EU's Emergency Toolbox for humanitarian aid is designed to respond rapidly to sudden-onset emergencies. It is composed of three funding mechanisms: for epidemics; for small-scale response; and for support to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The financial allocation amounted to a total of EUR 11.5 million, of which EUR 3.5 million for epidemics; EUR 5 million for small-scale response and EUR 3 million for the DREF.

COM(2017)0662
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COM(2003)0430
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COM(2002)0322
EUR-Lex

EUR-Lex
COM(2001)0307

EUR-Lex
COM(2000)0784

Regulation 1996/1257
OJ L 163 02.07.1996, p. 0001

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COM(1996)0239

EUR-Lex
COM(1996)0239

OJ C 166 10.06.1996, p. 0015-0023
T4-0226/1996

T4-0226/1996

The rapporteur, Mrs SAUQUILLO PEREZ DEL ARCO (PSE, E), recommended voting in favour of the common position of the Council, with three amendments that were aimed at exempting from taxes, levies and customs duties those activities that provided humanitarian aid and at strengthening relations with aid organisations. According to the rapporteur, this regulation would be effective and would also enable humanitarian aid to be delivered quickly. Commissioner Bonino agreed with those Members who had called for a greater level of preventive diplomacy, the right of humanitarian intervention and actions to clear anti-personnel mines. However, she said that given current EU powers in this area emergency aid was in need of a legal basis. As regards the amendments, the Commission was prepared to accept No 1, but in respect of Amendment No 2 on comitology the Commission could, in emergency cases, assume its responsibilities in accordance with the compromise agreed in the common position; finally, the Commission was unable to include Amendment No 3 in the Council Regulation as it stood, though was prepared to make a political statement designed to strengthen the process of consultation with NGOs, in accordance with the spirit of the amendment.

Debate in Parliament

A4-0125/1996
OJ C 152 27.05.1996, p. 0005

A4-0125/1996

EUR-Lex
SEC(1996)0203

12768/3/1995
OJ C 087 25.03.1996, p. 0046

12768/3/1995

EUR-Lex
OJ C 058 28.02.1996, p. 0008
COM(1995)0721

EUR-Lex
COM(1995)0721

OJ C 339 18.12.1995, p. 0039-0054
T4-0589/1995

T4-0589/1995

The rapporteur, Mrs PEREZ DEL ARCO, believed that the humanitarian policy and the development policy should be better coordinated. She highlighted in particular the need to coordinate the activities of all of ECHO’s operational partners in order to guarantee effective and complementary measures on humanitarian aid. She hoped that the 1996 IGC would look at the issue of the legal basis for humanitarian aid. The Commissioner, Mrs BONINO, stated that she was rejecting Amendments Nos 2, 3, 12 and 16 because they mentioned the framework partnership contract, which was a management tool of the Commission, Amendment No 18 because, as in the previous case, the Regulation should not deal with an issue involving the internal coordination of the Commission’s services, Amendment No 21 on the requirement to inform Parliament of the implementation of humanitarian aid, which was already provided for under the Plumb-Delors procedure, and Amendment No 22, which was superfluous.

Debate in Parliament

A4-0283/1995
OJ C 339 18.12.1995, p. 0003

A4-0283/1995

EUR-Lex
OJ C 180 14.07.1995, p. 0006
COM(1995)0201

EUR-Lex
COM(1995)0201