Parliament critical of EU humanitarian aid management

A resolution criticising the management of EU humanitarian aid and, in particular, the way in which EU funds are channelled through the United Nations, was passed by Parliament on Thursday.

"Humanitarian aid targets the ones that need it most. Every inefficiency costs human lives”, explained Martin EHRENHAUSER (NI, AT) who prepared the resolution.

Call for more efficiency and less bureaucracy

Parliament would like the European Commission's humanitarian aid and civil protection department to manage aid more efficiently and less bureaucratically while, at the same time, ensuring a high level of accountability and transparency. It also wants the Commission to assess the reliability of potential partner organisations better, so as to ensure that their management systems are in order.

UN management of EU funds needs to improve

MEPs also point out weaknesses in the transparency and accountability of UN management of EU funds. It is difficult to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of this aid, as UN reports contain insufficient information on project output and outcomes, says the text.

EU Member States should show more political will to advance UN reform; so that accountability improves, it adds.

MEPs also call on the foreign policy High Representative Catherine Ashton to prioritise this issue and play a facilitating role.

Background

The EU is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor The EU’s total contribution in 2010, including bilateral funding from Member States, was €2,957 million, 36% of which is channelled through the Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department.

The humanitarian aid and civil protection department channels its funds through about 200 partners: NGOs, UN agencies, international organisations and specialised agencies of Member States. The Commission manages its humanitarian activities from its headquarters in Brussels via a network of more than 40 field offices all over the world.

Procedure: Non-legislative resolution