Brussels, 13/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on Thursday 12 May, European ministers for development hailed the approach proposed by the European Commission to make the 60 million refugees and displaced persons in the world less dependent on emergency aid, and to help them integrate sustainably into their host countries and communities (see EUROPE 11548 and 11540).
In its conclusions on the Commission's communication, “Lives in Dignity: from Aid-dependence to Self-reliance”, the Council recognises that the humanitarian system alone cannot address the enormous impact of the forced displacements not only on the people and families concerned but also on the host countries and host communities.
It underlines the EU's commitment to provide a framework for a more efficient response, ensuring human dignity, to forced displacement, and to maximise the impact of EU support to these vulnerable people. The Council therefore calls on the Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the member states to apply this new approach. The Commission and the EEAS are also asked to report to the Council regularly, starting this year, on the action taken.
With the Agenda on Migration resulting in the EU's creation of emergency trust funds, like the fund for Africa or for Syria, which follow this approach, the Council is counting on the results of the implementation of these new instruments to guide the programming of EU aid. The goal is to tackle the root causes of migration and forced displacement more effectively, and to improve the long-term perspectives of the host communities, refugees and displaced people as well as of those who return to their homes. The Council calls on the Commission and the EEAS to strengthen their cooperation with partner countries. The World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on 23-24 May, and the high level international meeting on refugees and migrants at the United Nations General Assembly, will offer a prime opportunity to foster the commitment of other actors, the Council states. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)