EU Humanitarian aid: Lessons identified and the way forward

Briefing 29-01-2018

The new uncertain geopolitical context has had a far-reaching impact, including on European Union (EU) humanitarian aid. The EU has faced a rising number of terrorist attacks across Europe that has created an atmosphere of fear, while the United Kingdom (UK)'s decision to withdraw from the EU has challenged the European project as we know it. The EU institutions and its Member States, as well as international institutions have been challenged in their response to refugees seeking asylum, and to the humanitarian crises in the Mediterranean. Equally, the election of President Trump has ushered in a new era of United States (US) unilateralism, creating a gap on the global agenda. This briefing aims to provide an assessment of recent developments in the area of EU humanitarian aid and outline elements that would be pertinent to consider in policy-making when reflecting on how to move forward on the post-2020 architecture of the EU external financing instruments, which affect EU humanitarian aid, and the needs surrounding the new EU budget.