Skip to main content
Knowledge4Policy
KNOWLEDGE FOR POLICY

Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

Publication | 2021

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the EU’s Humanitarian Action: new challenges, same principles – 10 March 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.

The Staff Working Document takes stock of the progress made one year after the adoption of the Communication.

In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission has continued delivering on its commitments to theGrand Bargain, a shared commitment by donors and humanitarian organisations to make humanitarian aid even more impactful.

Over the past year, the Commission has stepped up its outreach to and dialogue with non-European donors.

The Commission has also worked on using resources more efficiently and effectively and commenced work on a new European Humanitarian Response Capacity to address specific gaps in humanitarian response in complementarity with the work done by its partners.

In line with the objective set by the Communication, the Commission is now factoring climate and environmental riskconsiderations consistently into humanitarian operations.

The Commission has worked across the EU institutions and with Member States on improving compliance with the International Humanitarian Law.

The Commission has progressed further on rolling out the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, to build resilience to shocks in situations of fragility.

  • In particular, the Global Network against Food Crises and the “Fighting Food Crises along the HDP Nexus” coalition stemming from the UN Food Systems Summit aim at improving coordination between humanitarian, development and peace actors to address and prevent hunger.

  • Moreover, expanding support for cash-based, shock-responsive social safety nets across the nexus helps enhance the efficiency and sustainability of humanitarian assistance. Alongside a mapping of existing programmes, the Commission will adopt comprehensive cash guidance in the first half of 2022 to take this endeavour forward