BETA


2023/2000(INI) How to build an innovative humanitarian aid strategy: spotlight on current and forgotten crises

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead DEVE ZORRINHO Carlos (icon: S&D S&D) ANDREWS Barry (icon: Renew Renew), MARQUARDT Erik (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), ZIMNIOK Bernhard (icon: ID ID), KEMPA Beata (icon: ECR ECR), URBÁN CRESPO Miguel (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL), COMÍN I OLIVERES Antoni (icon: NA NA)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2023/11/23
   EP - Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
Documents
2023/11/23
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Documents
2023/11/21
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2023/10/31
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Development adopted the own-initiative report by Carlos ZORRINHO (S&D, PT) on how to build an innovative humanitarian aid strategy: spotlight on current and forgotten crises.

Humanitarian needs are at an all-time high and are growing at an unprecedented speed, with 339 million people estimated to be in need in 2023 compared to 274 million in 2022. The gap between global humanitarian needs and the resources allocated to meet them continues to widen. The EU, together with its Member States and the United States account for the vast majority of global funding for humanitarian aid. The EU’s humanitarian budget for 2023 has been set at EUR 1.7 billion, which is far from sufficient to continue keeping up with the EU’s commitments as one of the world’s leading donors. There are striking imbalances in funding between humanitarian appeals, reflecting the fact that more crises are being forgotten.

The report stated that there is no universally agreed official definition of a ‘forgotten crisis’. The term ‘forgotten crisis’ is often used to describe humanitarian crises that receive limited attention and media coverage, are often overshadowed by other emergencies or ongoing conflicts, or that fail to generate an international response despite the severity of the situation and its impact on affected populations. The Commission allocates at least 15 % of its initial annual humanitarian budget to forgotten crises and has led by example in ensuring there is no diversion of aid in the light of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Innovative structural solutions are needed to address global humanitarian challenges and ensure that the humanitarian system is more agile, prepared for and responsive to humanitarian crises. These solutions should focus the following:

Funding

Members urgently called on the Commission and the Member States to substantially increase their humanitarian aid budgets – without compromising their development budgets – to respond to humanitarian needs, which are at a record high. They reiterated their call on the Member States to allocate a fixed share of 0.7 % of their gross national incomes to official development assistance (ODA). They called on the Member States to set ambitious targets and create roadmaps for gradually increasing ODA to meet the final target of 10 %.

The report called for the revision of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) to include a substantial increase in the humanitarian aid budget to match the new humanitarian landscape and needs, including the specific needs of women and girls. Members are concerned that the funds earmarked for external crises under the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve (SEAR) were already exhausted in the first quarter of 2023. In this regard, they suggested splitting the SEAR into two separate parts, reflecting the internal and external dimensions, and equipping each part with adequate funding. Parliament and the Council are called on to substantially increase the humanitarian aid instrument in the context of the 2024 annual budget.

The committee underlined the important role of civil society, humanitarian organisations and local partners in identifying needs and delivering humanitarian aid directly to those in need.

The triple nexus

The report noted that the triple nexus is key to addressing the underlying causes and context-specific needs in complex and protracted crises and to building resilience to future crises. It is stressed that poverty, conflict, instability and forced displacement are closely related phenomena that must be addressed in a coherent and comprehensive manner. Members insisted on more nexus-specific funding, transparency, visibility, coordination and knowledge-sharing among stakeholders when applying the triple nexus approach, including through better involvement of local actors.

People-centred approach

While stressing the importance of building human resilience by enhancing protection, Members called for efforts to enhance local and sustainable agricultural and food production by promoting agro-ecological methods and sustainable fisheries to increase food availability and prevent dependence on external supplies in times of humanitarian crises. They highlighted the role and importance of local formal and informal civil society organisations in the humanitarian response.

Enabling environment

The Commission is called on to:

- develop a humanitarian diplomacy strategy together with the Member States, ensuring a more systematic and coordinated approach to humanitarian diplomacy;

- establish a European Centre for Humanitarian Research and Innovation, bringing together experts from academia and practitioners to foster innovation in the humanitarian sector, notably on access to new sources of finance.

Role of media

The report underlined the critical role of media in raising awareness of crises and generating public support for crisis response. Media organisations should not abandon coverage of conflicts, even if they are deemed ‘prolonged’ 'or ‘forgotten’, as continued reporting is essential for keeping the international community informed, maintaining pressure on relevant stakeholders and supporting efforts towards conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

Documents
2023/10/24
   EP - Vote in committee
2023/10/17
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2023/07/19
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2023/06/14
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2023/02/28
   EP - ZORRINHO Carlos (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in DEVE
2023/01/19
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament

Documents

Votes

Innovative humanitarian aid strategy: spotlight on current and forgotten crises – A9-0321/2023 – Carlos Zorrinho – Motion for a resolution #

2023/11/23 Outcome: +: 432, 0: 98, -: 33
DE FR ES IT RO PL PT BE SE IE AT HU EL LT BG FI SI NL DK HR LV LU EE CZ SK CY MT ??
Total
75
69
51
55
26
47
19
18
19
12
14
10
16
10
11
13
8
14
11
10
7
6
7
17
10
4
3
1
icon: PPE PPE
142

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Latvia PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Malta PPE

For (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
103

Belgium S&D

2
3

Hungary S&D

For (1)

1

Greece S&D

1

Lithuania S&D

2

Bulgaria S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Latvia S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

2

Czechia S&D

For (1)

1

Cyprus S&D

2

Malta S&D

2
icon: Renew Renew
86

Italy Renew

For (1)

1

Poland Renew

1
3

Ireland Renew

2

Hungary Renew

For (1)

1

Greece Renew

1

Lithuania Renew

1

Finland Renew

3

Slovenia Renew

2

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Renew

2

Estonia Renew

3
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
57

Spain Verts/ALE

3

Italy Verts/ALE

3

Poland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

2

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Czechia Verts/ALE

3
icon: The Left The Left
30

Portugal The Left

4

Belgium The Left

For (1)

1

Sweden The Left

For (1)

1

Greece The Left

2

Finland The Left

For (1)

1

Netherlands The Left

For (1)

1

Denmark The Left

1

Cyprus The Left

2

The Left

1
icon: NI NI
37

Germany NI

Abstain (1)

3

France NI

Abstain (2)

3

Belgium NI

For (1)

1

Lithuania NI

1

Croatia NI

Against (1)

2

Latvia NI

1

Slovakia NI

2
icon: ID ID
48

Austria ID

3

Denmark ID

Against (1)

1

Estonia ID

Abstain (1)

1

Czechia ID

Against (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
60

Germany ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Romania ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Belgium ECR

2

Sweden ECR

3

Greece ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Bulgaria ECR

2

Finland ECR

2

Netherlands ECR

Abstain (1)

4

Croatia ECR

Against (1)

1

Latvia ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Slovakia ECR

Against (1)

1
AmendmentsDossier
180 2023/2000(INI)
2023/07/19 DEVE 180 amendments...
source: 751.780

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

docs/3
date
2023-11-23T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0437_EN.html title: T9-0437/2023
type
Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
body
EP
events/3
date
2023-11-21T00:00:00
type
Debate in Parliament
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EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-9-2023-11-21-TOC_EN.html title: Debate in Parliament
events/4
date
2023-11-23T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0437_EN.html title: T9-0437/2023
forecasts
  • date: 2023-11-23T00:00:00 title: Vote scheduled
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament's vote
New
Procedure completed
forecasts/0/title
Old
Vote in plenary scheduled
New
Vote scheduled
forecasts/0
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2023-11-21T00:00:00
title
Debate scheduled
forecasts/0/title
Old
Debate in plenary scheduled
New
Debate scheduled
forecasts/0
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2023-11-21T00:00:00
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Debate in plenary scheduled
forecasts/0
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2023-11-20T00:00:00
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Indicative plenary sitting date
forecasts/1
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2023-11-23T00:00:00
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Vote in plenary scheduled
docs/3
date
2023-10-31T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2023-0321_EN.html title: A9-0321/2023
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
body
EP
events/2/summary
  • The Committee on Development adopted the own-initiative report by Carlos ZORRINHO (S&D, PT) on how to build an innovative humanitarian aid strategy: spotlight on current and forgotten crises.
  • Humanitarian needs are at an all-time high and are growing at an unprecedented speed, with 339 million people estimated to be in need in 2023 compared to 274 million in 2022. The gap between global humanitarian needs and the resources allocated to meet them continues to widen. The EU, together with its Member States and the United States account for the vast majority of global funding for humanitarian aid. The EU’s humanitarian budget for 2023 has been set at EUR 1.7 billion, which is far from sufficient to continue keeping up with the EU’s commitments as one of the world’s leading donors. There are striking imbalances in funding between humanitarian appeals, reflecting the fact that more crises are being forgotten.
  • The report stated that there is no universally agreed official definition of a ‘forgotten crisis’. The term ‘forgotten crisis’ is often used to describe humanitarian crises that receive limited attention and media coverage, are often overshadowed by other emergencies or ongoing conflicts, or that fail to generate an international response despite the severity of the situation and its impact on affected populations. The Commission allocates at least 15 % of its initial annual humanitarian budget to forgotten crises and has led by example in ensuring there is no diversion of aid in the light of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
  • Innovative structural solutions are needed to address global humanitarian challenges and ensure that the humanitarian system is more agile, prepared for and responsive to humanitarian crises. These solutions should focus the following:
  • Funding
  • Members urgently called on the Commission and the Member States to substantially increase their humanitarian aid budgets – without compromising their development budgets – to respond to humanitarian needs, which are at a record high. They reiterated their call on the Member States to allocate a fixed share of 0.7 % of their gross national incomes to official development assistance (ODA). They called on the Member States to set ambitious targets and create roadmaps for gradually increasing ODA to meet the final target of 10 %.
  • The report called for the revision of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) to include a substantial increase in the humanitarian aid budget to match the new humanitarian landscape and needs, including the specific needs of women and girls. Members are concerned that the funds earmarked for external crises under the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve (SEAR) were already exhausted in the first quarter of 2023. In this regard, they suggested splitting the SEAR into two separate parts, reflecting the internal and external dimensions, and equipping each part with adequate funding. Parliament and the Council are called on to substantially increase the humanitarian aid instrument in the context of the 2024 annual budget.
  • The committee underlined the important role of civil society, humanitarian organisations and local partners in identifying needs and delivering humanitarian aid directly to those in need.
  • The triple nexus
  • The report noted that the triple nexus is key to addressing the underlying causes and context-specific needs in complex and protracted crises and to building resilience to future crises. It is stressed that poverty, conflict, instability and forced displacement are closely related phenomena that must be addressed in a coherent and comprehensive manner. Members insisted on more nexus-specific funding, transparency, visibility, coordination and knowledge-sharing among stakeholders when applying the triple nexus approach, including through better involvement of local actors.
  • People-centred approach
  • While stressing the importance of building human resilience by enhancing protection, Members called for efforts to enhance local and sustainable agricultural and food production by promoting agro-ecological methods and sustainable fisheries to increase food availability and prevent dependence on external supplies in times of humanitarian crises. They highlighted the role and importance of local formal and informal civil society organisations in the humanitarian response.
  • Enabling environment
  • The Commission is called on to:
  • - develop a humanitarian diplomacy strategy together with the Member States, ensuring a more systematic and coordinated approach to humanitarian diplomacy;
  • - establish a European Centre for Humanitarian Research and Innovation, bringing together experts from academia and practitioners to foster innovation in the humanitarian sector, notably on access to new sources of finance.
  • Role of media
  • The report underlined the critical role of media in raising awareness of crises and generating public support for crisis response. Media organisations should not abandon coverage of conflicts, even if they are deemed ‘prolonged’ 'or ‘forgotten’, as continued reporting is essential for keeping the international community informed, maintaining pressure on relevant stakeholders and supporting efforts towards conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
docs/3
date
2023-10-31T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2023-0321_EN.html title: A9-0321/2023
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
body
EP
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2023-10-31T00:00:00
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procedure/Other legal basis
Rules of Procedure EP 159
docs/2
date
2023-10-17T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/DEVE-AM-753660_EN.html title: PE753.660
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2023-11-20T00:00:00
docs/1
date
2023-07-19T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/DEVE-AM-751780_EN.html title: PE751.780
type
Amendments tabled in committee
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  • date: 2023-06-14T00:00:00 docs: url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/DEVE-PR-749020_EN.html title: PE749.020 type: Committee draft report body: EP
commission
  • body: EC dg: International Cooperation and Development commissioner: URPILAINEN Jutta
forecasts
  • date: 2023-12-11T00:00:00 title: Indicative plenary sitting date
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Responsible Committee
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committee
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rapporteur
name: ZORRINHO Carlos date: 2023-02-28T00:00:00 group: Group of Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
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type
Responsible Committee
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shadows
committees/0/shadows/1
name
MARQUARDT Erik
group
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
abbr
Verts/ALE
committees/0/shadows/3
name
URBÁN CRESPO Miguel
group
The Left group in the European Parliament - GUE/NGL
abbr
GUE/NGL
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Responsible Committee
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EP
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Development
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EP
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committees/0/shadows/0
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ANDREWS Barry
group
Renew Europe group
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Renew
committees/0/shadows
  • name: ZIMNIOK Bernhard group: Identity and Democracy abbr: ID