The European Commission has indicated that, at the G20 Summit on Afghanistan on Tuesday, 12 October, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is going to announce a €1 billion package of direct support to the Afghan people and neighbouring countries, combining humanitarian aid with targeted support for basic needs. This amount includes the €300 million in humanitarian aid already agreed upon in 2021.
“We must do all we can to avert a major humanitarian and socio-economic collapse in Afghanistan. We need to do it fast. We have been clear about our conditions for any engagement with the Afghan authorities, including on the respect of human rights”, stated Mrs von der Leyen.
The day before, the EU had agreed to increase its direct support to the Afghan population in order to prevent a major humanitarian crisis. During an extraordinary videoconference of EU development ministers that was convened by High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, ministers had discussed concrete ways to increase EU support—the provision of basic services in particular—and to strengthen the resilience of the Afghan society.
“According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, at least 1 million children are at risk of dying this winter, unless they get the appropriate assistance. We cannot ‘wait and see’”, Mr Borrell was quoted as saying in a press release.
The humanitarian crisis is worsening—more particularly due to the failure of health and social institutions that, in the current context, are no longer able to provide basic services to a vulnerable population. Slovenian State Secretary Stanislav Raščan had specified that it was necessary to provide, before winter, substantial assistance to the people in Afghanistan and to those who have fled Afghanistan to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. He had pointed out that this assistance would need to be provided in a coordinated manner, working in concert with the United Nations. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)