The organization requests the EU to allocate a minimum of 18.200 million euros for humanitarian aid over a 7-year period. Plan International has urged the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to «lead» a «solid and committed» response from the European Union to humanitarian aid by increasing funding through the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). In a letter addressed to the head of the Executive, the focus was placed on «the alarming global trend» towards a deficit in funding for these programs and an «offensive against cooperation and humanitarian action.»
«A chronic deficit that endangers the EU’s ability to effectively support people affected by humanitarian crises,» according to the organization, which also highlighted the United States’ decision to «freeze its foreign aid and dismantle» its international cooperation agency USAID.
According to Plan International, the gap between humanitarian needs and available funding has «more than tripled, going from 8.400 million dollars in 2016 to 26.000 million in 2024, due to a massive increase in needs and, more recently, significant funding cuts from multiple donors, including European states.»
Therefore, they believe that the European Council meeting this Thursday and Friday is «a key and pivotal moment for the future of humanitarian aid.» In this regard, they urge the EU to support communities affected by crises and increase humanitarian funding, as well as take the lead in convening a «global strategic dialogue to shape a new humanitarian system that works with and for the most vulnerable communities and is supported by a diverse range of actors, including new donors.»
They also remind the EU that, unlike other sectors «driven by profit, competitiveness, or productivity,» humanitarian action, «guided by the basic principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, prioritizes people affected by crises with the sole aim of providing assistance to save lives.» Therefore, they demand a «specific budget line to ensure the rapid and effective implementation of humanitarian action.»
Another request is for the EU to allocate a minimum of 18.200 million euros for humanitarian aid over a 7-year cycle for the next MFF, with an annual base of at least 2.600 million that they consider «the indispensable minimum.»
Furthermore, they call on Spain to put forward its own plan for additional and new funding that allows them to «lead a discussion with other member states to assume a stronger humanitarian budget in the next Multiannual Financial Framework» in the face of «the offensive being launched against the system of cooperation and humanitarian action.»
FUENTE
