On Tuesday 20 May, the European Commissioner for Equality; Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, emphasised the need for greater collective action at international level to deal with the many current crises.
“The humanitarian landscape is changing. The United States, long a pillar of international assistance, has decided to cut many of its aid programmes. This will lead to the suffering of millions, worsening humanitarian crises and increasing instability”, Ms Lahbib warned at the start of the second day of discussions at the European Humanitarian Forum.
“The European Union is taking a different path”, she assured, calling for stronger “humanitarian diplomacy” and “collective action”. “The multilateral system may not be perfect, but it is the only way to guarantee peace, security, and prosperity. The EU is strongly committed to helping reshape, improve, and strengthen it”, she stated.
Turning fragile states into allies. “If we do it right, we can transform fragile states into stable and prosperous allies”, the European Commissioner stressed, citing the textbook case of South Korea, which was one of the poorest countries in the world following the Korean War, but has become a major economic power and a member of the OECD and the G20. “This must be replicated”, said Ms Lahbib.
European Humanitarian Forum. The fourth edition of the forum, held on Monday and Tuesday by the European Commission and the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, brought together more than 2,000 participants, including governments, NGOs, UN agencies, donors, academics and private sector players.
“The European Humanitarian Forum has been a significant platform for exchanging ideas about the current challenges faced by the global humanitarian system. We are all aware of the financial constraints and the increasing humanitarian needs. We all know we need to address these”, said Anna Radwan-Röhrenschef, Undersecretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
In 2025, the European Commission will mobilise an initial financial commitment of more than €2.3 billion to deal with urgent global crises.
On Tuesday, the EU institution also announced the presentation, in 2026, of an “integrated approach to fragility, combining humanitarian, development, and peace efforts” in order to “support long-term resilience”. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)