Humanitarian Food and Livelihood Assistance - DG ECHO Policy Guidelines

01/04/2025

In 2010, the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (DG ECHO) published the ‘Humanitarian Food Assistance: From Food Aid to Food Assistance’ policy document, its first sector-specific policy, setting the foundation for the development of several other sectoral policies over the following years. This revised policy places significant emphasis on the efficiency of interventions, integrates emerging concepts, adapts to new challenges that have emerged since its initial publication, and strengthens consistency with other thematic policies developed in recent years.

A Vision for Agriculture and Food Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future

19/02/2025

In this communication, the European Commission stresses that Global food security and European food sovereignty will remain an integral part of the EU’s overall security, competitiveness and sustainability agenda. The EU will continue to support third countries in their food sovereignty, resilience and sustainability, ensuring access to safe, high quality and nutritious food for all, including the most vulnerable through humanitarian assistance and the respect of the International Humanitarian Law.

“Samoa Agreement”: Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Members of the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States, of the other part.

19/07/2023

The Parties recognise that achieving food security and improved nutrition constitutes a major global challenge in the fight against poverty and growing inequality and therefore agree to address the structural causes thereof, which include conflicts, crises, natural resource degradation and climate change.

Disaster Risk Reduction in EU external action - Council conclusions

20/11/2022

The Council today approved conclusions asking for a proactive and anticipatory crisis response. Environmental degradation and climate change, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have all demonstrated the interconnected and systemic character of today’s risks as well as their potential to evolve into disasters with cascading effects. In this context, the Council has requested the Commission, the European External Action Service and the member states to shift from reactive crisis response to more proactive action, stressing the importance of effective disaster risk reduction (DRR), anticipatory action and risk-informed development.

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Ensuring Availability and Affordability of Fertilizers

11/11/2022

Fertilisers play a significant role for food security. Their production and their cost largely depend on natural gas. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a global mineral fertiliser and energy crisis is now weighing on global food security and food prices. In this context, the European Commission presented a Communication on ensuring availability and affordability of fertilisers. The Communication presents a wide range of actions and guidance on how to tackle the challenges that EU farmers and industry, as well as developing countries, are currently facing.

Council conclusions on the Team Europe response to global food insecurity

20/6/2022

The Council calls for a robust, effective and transparent Team Europe response to global food insecurity comprising the following four strands of action: i) Solidarity through emergency relief and support for affordability; ii) Boosting sustainable production, resilience and food systems transformation; iii) Facilitating trade by helping Ukraine export agricultural goods via different land routes and EU ports and by promoting open global trade in food and fertilisers; and iv) Effective multilateralism.

EC Communication: Safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of food system

23/3/2022

In order to mitigate the impact of the war in Ukraine, the Communication presents a range of short-term and medium-term actions to enhance global food security. They include debt relief initiatives, macro-economic support to low-income and food-deficit countries, humanitarian assistance in the most affected regions, and continuous support for the transformation towards resilient and sustainable food systems.

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the EU’s Humanitarian Action: new challenges, same principles

10/03/2021

The Communication proposes a series of key actions to expedite the provision of humanitarian aid by expanding the resource base, supporting a better enabling environment for humanitarian partners and addressing the root causes of crises through a ‘Team Europe’ approach.

Farm to Fork Strategy – for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system

20/5/2020

The strategy announces that the EU will boost cooperation to improve nutrition and alleviate food insecurity by strengthening resilience of food systems. It also put emphasis on the prevention of and response to food crises, particularly in fragile contexts.

Towards a comprehensive Strategy with Africa

9/3/2020

 The joint communication stresses that EU and Africa must join efforts to reach the Sustainable Development Goal of “zero hunger” and address the challenges of nutrition and food security by boosting safe and sustainable agri-food systems.

New European Consensus on Development - 'Our world, our dignity, our future'

2018

The new consensus reaffirms that poverty eradication is the primary development objective and that it is indispensable to ending hunger and ensuring food security. Two thirds of the world’s poor depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Support to smallholders and investments in sustainable agriculture are needed to diversify production systems, prevent malnutrition and food insecurity, and fight against soil erosion and biodiversity loss.

European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Legal Framework

The Treaty of Lisbon underpins the commitment of the EU to provide assistance, relief and protection to victims of natural or man-made disasters around the world (art. 214).

Geographic and thematic programmes

The EU has adopted geographic and thematic programmes for the period 2021-2027 to address food and nutrition security and support the transition toward resilient and sustainable agri-food systems.

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