Financing EU humanitarian aid: limits and prospects

At a time when many European Union Member States are being forced to cut their budgets and Official Development Assistance (ODA), humanitarian aid is bearing the brunt of the consequences. Germany, the world’s second largest donor after the United States, has announced a drastic cut in its humanitarian aid (-53%), while France, which had initially planned a budget of one billion euros for 2025, has had to revise it downwards to 500 million euros in its draft finance bill, which is still being debated in parliament before a vote.

With a record number of people in need of aid in countries affected by crises – over 300 million according to estimates – these examples illustrate perfectly the funding gap, which is getting worse by the day. Faced with unprecedented humanitarian needs, which require $49 billion according to the UN (UNOCHA) to help 187.6 million people, funding is constantly falling, from $24.3 billion in September 2023 to just $22.48 billion for the same period in 2024. This growing disengagement of donors risks having catastrophic repercussions for the world’s most vulnerable populations.

As the world’s third largest donor of humanitarian aid, the European Union does not seem to appreciate the scale of the growing disengagement of other donors and the ever-increasing humanitarian needs. For 2025, the European Commission initially proposed a budget of €1.89 billion. Although the European Council has slightly increased this envelope by €30 million, the amount remains well below actual needs and the requests of the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). The European Parliament, for its part, voted in favour of an amendment providing for an increase of 120 million euros, bringing the total budget to over 2 billion euros. On 16 November, a compromise was reached between the Council and the Parliament, reducing the Parliament’s initial ambitions: the final increase is only €50 million, bringing the total budget to around €1.95 billion.

Humanitarian aid needs have constantly exceeded the initial budget, requiring recurrent transfers from special financial instruments. To maintain its level of activity, DG ECHO requires an average of €2.42 billion per year, significantly more than the core budget. This shortfall is made up by consolidations from the Emergency Aid Reserve (EAR).

Figure 1- EU budget for humanitarian aid, November 2024. This document is based on public information from the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, discrepancies may occur due to the dynamic nature of data sources.

Although in practice this reserve has so far reinforced humanitarian aid, it can also be mobilised for other budget lines. If 2025 follows the pattern of previous years, the annual budget will be €2.52 billion, with €580 million being added to the Emergency Aid Reserve (EAR).

‘In a context where Member States are reducing their spending, VOICE and its 89 members will continue to defend a budget for humanitarian aid commensurate with needs and the mobilisation of the EAR exclusively for external crises’.

Maria Groenewald, Director of VOICE

While the initial budget for humanitarian aid has never exceeded €2 billion, we can see the limits of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which sets ceilings for each programme. For example, humanitarian aid has a ceiling of 11.6 billion euros over a 7-year period, i.e. an average of 1.65 billion euros per year. An increase in humanitarian aid requires either an increase in Member States’ contributions, as was the case in 2022 when the conflict in Ukraine led to significant contributions, or a reallocation of funds to the humanitarian aid budget line. In this context, it is difficult to envisage a significant increase in the annual budget.

Discussions on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028-2035) are underway at the European Commission, which will present a proposal in 2025. Given the scale of the crises, there is an urgent need to guarantee an appropriate financial response, in line with the Council Conclusions on the measures to be taken to bridge the humanitarian funding gap. VOICE and its members expect the new European Commission to seize this opportunity to provide humanitarian aid with a budget commensurate with needs and to maintain a separate budget line. Humanitarian aid must be detached from all political considerations and must remain based on the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.

Figure 2 – VOICE, ICRC, Red Cross EU and MSF: Exchange at the European Parliament’s Development Committee, 26 September 2024.

VOICE Policy Resolution ‘Take a stand: Pledge for Humanitarian Action!’ appeals to political decision-makers for strong humanitarian action with three priorities: preserving humanitarian space, closing the humanitarian funding gap and addressing the increase in climate-related conflicts and natural disasters.

The next few months will be decisive for the budget allocated to humanitarian aid. VOICE and its 89 members will continue their efforts to convey these messages at the highest level, to all the European institutions, from the Parliament to the Commission and the Council of the European Union, but also directly to the Member States through the action of its members in each country.

Caroline Correia.

Caroline Correia works at VOICE as an advocacy assistant. After studying international public law, she joined Coordination SUD as an advocacy officer before moving on to VOICE to focus on monitoring funding for humanitarian aid.