College Read-Out — Wednesday, 27 May 2026

Key Points

• The EU adopted a communication on humanitarian action in a shifting global order.
• A proposal for mobile satellite services regulation was also approved to reduce dependency on U.S. services.
• The scale of global humanitarian need has increased eightfold in the last 20 years.
• The EU aims to reform the global humanitarian system through innovative responses and stronger humanitarian diplomacy.
• Humanitarian workers face unprecedented violence, with over 300 killed last year; their protection is a priority.
• The EU emphasizes multilateralism and collective action to uphold international humanitarian law and support those in need.

Full Transcript

Transcribed automatically from EbS (Europe by Satellite) · English audio track · AI-generated · May contain errors · Verify before quoting

Opening Statement

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our college readout and the press conference on the Joint Communication on EU's Humanitarian Action in a Shifting Global Order. We have the pleasure of having with us here to present this communication adopted by the College this morning, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib. Commissioner, without further ado, the floor is yours.

Hadja Lahbib: Thank you. Thank you for welcoming me. Good afternoon, and welcome to the readout of our college meeting. Today we adopted a communication on the EU's humanitarian action in a shifting global order, and I will give you more details on this communication shortly. And we also adopted a proposal for a regulation on the procedure for authorization of systems providing mobile satellite services using the harmonized two gigahertz frequency band. It's a very important strategic decision, reducing our dependencies from U.S. services and ensuring connections in situation of crisis and where new ground level network are available. But Executive Vice President Virkkunen will present this proposal in the press conference in the VIP corner shortly after our own press conference. So with that said, allow me to turn to the main topic of the day, and I will start in French and then in English. And I will ask you a question. Who doesn't have principles? Everybody obviously has principles, but it's only once they are rudely tested that we will find out whether they are more than just principles. It's only once they are confronted with harsh reality, which requires courage and requires us to make sacrifices, it's only then that we will find out whether our principles are more than just postures. And that's what's happening to us today. European principles are subject to true testing. Every day, the rules that we thought were established are being questioned or simply pushed aside. Obviously, we are asking ourselves now whether our European principles are sound and solid. Are they part of who we really are? Or are they just pretty words that we keep for our speeches and that we forget as soon as we risk losing something? 75 years ago, Robert Schuman had a vision that nations that in the past used their force against each other would use those resources to build peace together. And that vision became the European Union. And that vision doesn't just stop with us on our continent, it's much broader. It's about our humanity, our security and our future, and the fact that they are intrinsically linked with the rest of the world. What happens to people on the other side of the ocean affects us as well. Sufferance has no borders. This is a powerful vision that we still believe in. It is still at the heart of the European project, a project of peace, solidarity and prosperity in a world which is increasingly less like that. The picture is quite gloomy. Close to 240 million people need humanitarian aid to survive these days. If these people formed a nation, it would be the fifth largest country in the world. It would be equivalent to the entire population of Germany, France, Italy and Belgium together. 20 years ago, 30 million people depended on humanitarian aid. Therefore, in the space of just one generation, that figure has multiplied by eight. It hasn't doubled, tripled, it has increased eightfold. One in five children live in a war zone or is fleeing a war zone. Half a billion children are suffering from armed conflicts. We have approximately 130 conflicts ongoing in the world today. That's a figure that has doubled in 15 years ago. 120 million people were forced to leave their homes last year. These are figures that we haven't seen since the Second World War. So how can we describe these phenomenons? We can't call them a trend. This is a situation that we haven't seen the likes of before, and we need an innovative response. The scale of the humanitarian need requires a revolution in our humanitarian aid. That revolution is at the heart of what we are calling for today. We need to do things differently, more effectively, more swiftly, closer to those who are in need and to be more inclusive as well. So we are called on to do work as the world's largest humanitarian donor, together with our partners in the UN, to reform the global humanitarian system. We know that we are supported by European citizens. Nine out of ten European citizens are proud that the EU plays a key role in humanitarian aid, and this is a powerful reminder that solidarity is a key part of who we are. This mission is also part of another of our key values, multilateralism, which we continue to defend because it guarantees international law and we believe in a world based on rules. We are proud to present this humanitarian communication also on behalf of High Representative Callas. It is a call to our shared humanity, to our European principles, and to strong collective action for people in need. It is built on three principles – protect, perform and partner. First, we must protect humanitarian access. Aid must reach people in desperate need, no obstacles, no exceptions. That means defending international humanitarian law, no matter where it is under threat, and using Europe's political weight to open doors when aid is blocked and civilians are trapped. Making sure a truck carrying food gets through a checkpoint, children have a roof over their heads, hospitals have power to keep the lights on. We want to strengthen EU humanitarian diplomacy so we can deliver more results on the ground. Humanitarian diplomacy is how we turn our values into action, how we secure access for aid workers, protect civilians and deliver help to people who need it most. In many crises, it is the only channel still open when political dialogue has broken down. I saw what is at stake during my visit in the Great Lakes region, where civilians are trapped between bullets and hunger. I met directly with presidents, ministers in DRC, in Burundi, in Rwanda, and as well with aid workers, civil society and refugees. And I also met with AFC-M23 rebels, and we got results that ease the suffering of women, children, and men who have lost everything. But we need to do more. Long-term results take time and sustained effort, and this work continues, especially now with this outbreak of Ebola. First, we need to agree on common goals and clear ways of working together between the Commission, the external action services, and our EU special representatives. We also need to strengthen our Team Europe approach. That means better coordination with member states and also speaking with one voice, delivering common messages and taking common actions in context where international law is being violated. It means humanitarians, donors, and diplomats working together, not in parallel, and to increase the pressure of those who break the rules. It means funding humanitarian organizations so they can advocate effectively for the respect of international humanitarian law. And it means coordinating our communications to push back against disinformation that targets aid workers and undermines their works. And speaking about humanitarian workers, the violence against them has reached unprecedented levels. Last year, over 300 aid workers were killed. Nearly 200 were injured, over 100 kidnapped, and the vast majority of them local staff. Humanitarian workers are not targets. They are silent heroes, and they must be respected and protected. I have met these men and women most recently with the Lebanese Red Cross in Beirut working around the clock as bomb falls around them. There, more than 100 health care workers have been killed and hundreds injured. We will do more to protect them through financial support and capacity building and through security training, especially for local workers, so they can have the knowledge, the tools to operate safely, to protect themselves, but also the civilians they serve. We have already launched the Protect Aid Workers program in several countries, and we will expand it into a global program to improve care and support for the victims and survivors of attacks. For the past years and a half, I have visited many refugee camps, and I saw women and children suffering. In every crisis, they are always the first victim, always paying the heaviest price. So we are launching SHIELD, Sexual and Reproductive Health in Emergency and Life in Dignity, to improve access to sexual and reproductive health care in situation of crisis, and to strengthen support for survivors of gender-based violence. Our second priority is making sure the humanitarian system performs under pressure, and especially with fewer resources. As needs keep rising, the funding falls further behind. So we need to change simply the way we work. Every euro must go further, but also faster. And that is why we are reforming humanitarian supply chains. Logistics accounts for 60 to 80 percent of all humanitarian spending, and we need to cut waste and save money. Because every euro we saved on logistics is a euro we can spend on a loaf of bread or a vaccine for a child. Right now, most organizations use their own transport, their own warehouses, their own suppliers. That duplication costs lives, but also money. We will help them procure together, buy locally, pull warehouses, share cargo, share data, preposition supplies, and use artificial intelligence to do it in a smarter way. I saw this, by the way, firsthand when I was in Panama, where the EU and the UN share the same warehouses, so we save costs. And when Hurricane struck Jamaica, supplies got there fast. And really, that is the model. We also need to transform how we provide funding. For example, we will also scale up cash assistance. The evidence is clear. With the same funding, cash reaches 30 percent more people than in-kind aid. It is more efficient, more dignified, and it strengthens local economy. So people choose what they need that is not just a smarter aid, it is more also respectful aid. And we need to work more closely also with all local partners. We will increase our funding with a target of 25 percent localization by 2027, more than double compared to last year. This gives all local partners real ownership, strengthening their capacity, and bringing humanitarian action closer to communities. Concretely, our international partners will now have to explain in their funding proposal how affected communities and local actors are involved and designing in delivering assistance. And of course, we all need good data, data we can access fast, data we can trust, and data we can compare across countries, across crises, and also across organizations. Right now, everyone collects data differently, and that creates gaps, but also duplications. And that is why we are pushing for shared data, using every available tool, including AI and satellite technology. Our third priority is partnerships. There is no humanitarian solution to humanitarian crisis. Fragility and crisis are driven by conflict, climate change, and weak governance. Over half of the world's refugees come from extreme fragile countries, and up to 70 percent of asylum seekers in Europe come from fragile countries. If we want to reduce humanitarian need over time, we cannot only respond. We must better connect humanitarian action with development and with peace. What we call the humanitarian development-peace nexus, and that is why we have developed an integrated EU approach to fragility. And I welcome the commitment of High Representative Callas, but also Commissioner Sikela and Switja and other colleagues to make it a reality. I saw what this looks like in practice when I was in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Local Bangladeshi women farmers supported by EU development funding, growing and selling food, and that food then goes to assist Rohingya refugees through our humanitarian partners. It empowers local communities, creates livelihoods, and reduces the tensions that come with hosting a large number of refugees. And it is far more efficient than flying food in from the other side of the world. So sustainable, circular, and dignified. We must also build new alliances with third country donors, international organizations, financial institutions, the private sector, philanthropies, and local partners on the ground. Syria shows exactly why this integrated approach and broader partnership matter. Syria has depended on humanitarian aid for years. Now it needs to function as a country, moving from emergency assistance to recovery and real development. I've met many Syrian refugees in Jordan who desperately want to go back, but they have no homes, they have no school, they have no job, no security. Our task now is to help them to go back and to build the conditions that make return possible. Partnership is the only way to match the scale and the complexity of today's crisis. So to conclude, in a world where more and more leaders are asking ruthless questions, what's in it for me? What is my interest? In that work, we have to ask, where does Europe stand? We always thought the answer was clear and simple, but today it is not. Europe is choosing a path based on fairness, cooperation, and something that should never need defending, human compassion. Compassion for the most, most vulnerable, wherever they are, whatever their race, their religion, or the color of their skin. This is not naive. These are tried and tested principles throughout European history. It is about who we are. Thank you. Thank you very much for your presentation and all of your personal experience you've shared with us in the field of humanitarian aid. So now we would like to move on to your questions, and I would like to invite you to put your questions in any of the official languages of the EU, since we have a team of interpreters with us today. So let's start with you, please.

EU support for local actors

Q (EURACTIV): Thanks. Vince Chadwick from EURACTIV. Quick question. You talk about empowering local actors. The 1996 regulation forbids the EU from funding local actors directly. It's 30 years old. Everyone understands the localization agenda when it comes to aid. This is not a financial question, it's a political will question. Why is the EU still bound by a 30-year-old regulation which forbids them from supporting local actors? And why is that not being changed? Secondly, this is a communication that speaks about impartiality. It speaks about supporting women. It speaks about humanitarian diplomacy. This comes at a time when this Commission is inviting the Taliban to Brussels. Is this what we're to understand by humanitarian diplomacy? Do you support the decision to invite the Taliban to Brussels? Thirdly, finally, the Global Europe Instrument proposal from the Commission brings humanitarian aid into the larger instrument for the first time. Some people say this risks the independence of aid, and given the geopolitical push in the Commission, it may even risk the amount of aid that's left. Do you support the move to bring humanitarian aid inside Europe's overarching development instrument, and why? Thank you.

Spokesperson: Second question is only marginally linked to the topic of our press conference, but I leave it of course to the Commissioner to decide whether to address it. You know, when we call about, we talk about local, empowering local actors, you know, you are not taking to the right angles. We are a global donor. It means that we have reliable stakeholders, international NGOs, and it is through them that we are requesting to work with local actors. And we have, they have specific procedures, audits that needs to be respected. The European financing regulations needs to be respected. And it is through all stakeholders that we want to empower local actors. So we will develop this through capacity building, we will have trainings, but through international NGOs. So it's not directly, we are not implementing our humanitarian aid. We are global donors, but not actors. It's important to make the difference. And so far, you didn't listen maybe my speech, but I said that we are going to ask to all stakeholders in their designing how they will involve local actors. But of course, it needs to respect the rules, regulation, and all the audits procedures. And when it comes to humanitarian diplomacy, I think it's important to have an open channel to every part. You know, I was in DRC recently, I spoke to the M23 that are occupying Goma, essentially, to secure humanitarian corridors, and to also envisage the reopening of the Goma airport. And it was not a recognition of the rebels, the M23, AFC, M23 rebels, it was only for humanitarian diplomacy. So it was completely neutral. And it was in total respect of the principles of humanitarian action, independency, impartiality, autonomy, and so on. So the principle, the humanitarian principles are really at the core of this communication, this call for action. And it means that we need to have all our partners. If we want to help tomorrow in a more sustainable manner, we have to include all our partners, the private sector, the corporation in development to work in a more sustainable manner. That's it. Of course, the humanitarian principles must be always at the core of our action. Other questions? You had three questions in one. Let me give the opportunity to other colleagues in the room, and then we'll see if we have the time to get back. Irini.

Humanitarian worker safety measures

Q (Cyprus News Agency): Irini Kostaki for Cyprus News Agency. Commissioner, since both you and the communique acknowledges that 2024 was the deadliest year for humanitarian workers with over 380 deaths, apart from declarations against violence, and since the communique is not a legislative text, what other measures does the commission propose to this? And is the politicization of humanitarian aid and the erosion of the principles of neutrality and impartiality a reason for those casualties, in your opinion? Thank you. And also a follow-up on the Taliban visit.

Spokesperson: When it comes to – you were talking about humanitarian workers that are targeted, as I said in my speech, we created Protect Humanitarian Workers. It's a program that we have developed in several countries, and we are going to increase this program to make it global. And I met, when we had the European Humanitarian Forum last year, many of those who were benefiting from this program. It's the family members, it's aid workers themselves, so it means that we support them financially with training also, capacity building, we create, yes, connections among them, and so we are going to improve this program. So this is one thing. And when it comes to the respect of international humanitarian law, the fact that more and more violations are happening, and recently it happened in Ukraine with WFP, a warehouse was targeted yesterday, and in also South Lebanon, where hospitals are targeted. So we need to speak with one voice to denounce that, and so that's why we are going to reinforce, to strengthen our cooperation with the external action services, with the member states, with our representatives on the ground, with all our stakeholders. If we speak with one voice, I think we will be more heard. But unfortunately, indeed, we see more and more violations, and that's why we have this call today. Thank you. Yes, Maria?

Funding accountability in aid

Q: Maria Vassiloutanea. One question. First, on the increase of funds directly received by local actors, as you said, but how are you going to make sure that this money does not end up in the wrong hands? And this is, as you may know, an argument that has been largely used in the case of Gaza and Hamas. And secondly, the EU provides the largest share of global humanitarian aid, yet in the countries that this aid is sent, the people are not aware of the EU. I mean, if you ask experts, if you look at opinion polls, they do know a few individual EU countries, but they don't know the EU as an entity. Is this a concern for you, and how are you planning to deal with it? Thank you.

Spokesperson: When it comes to localization, you know, we are not directly financing local actors, as I said before, and we have a robust control system for traceability and accountability with our stakeholders. I'm going to move into French. I've already said all of this in English, actually. We have a position of zero tolerance when it comes to our funding, because at the end of the day, we're talking about our citizens' money, our taxpayers. I'm not saying there's zero risk, but we will not tolerate this sort of situation. Of course, the Court of Auditors, we're accountable to them, and ECHO, which is the Directorate General, which deals with humanitarian aid, they've never had any problems with the Court of Auditors. We're really working properly and correctly, so you should be reassured on that front. Now, our citizens, the fact that citizens might not be very aware of all the humanitarian aid, and the fact that the EU is the biggest donor at the moment. Of course, since the Trump administration has taken a step back, we are the biggest. I'm counting on you. I mean, I was a journalist myself, you're journalists. I mean, a train that arrives on time, that's not news. If a train derails and people die, unfortunately, that is news. So, please, we need visibility, and we are also looking at this humanitarian reset. It's something we've been talking about with our partners in WFP and UNHCR. It's something that I'm always raising constantly, and it's linked to our supply chain as well. When I was in Panama, I was saying just now, we share a warehouse with the UN agencies, and I was talking to a technical expert there, who said the best thing is to have no stickers, if it doesn't say UNHCR, or WFP, or EU, or whatever, because it's more work for us, and it slows everything down. There's a bit of a contradiction somewhere. You have to be effective, you have to move very quickly. At the same time, you want visibility. Putting stickers on, as I did on Monday, you might have been there. At the airport in Liege, we were sending 100 tons of emergency aid to the DRC. So, we put stickers on everything, because visibility is important. It's important for those who are receiving the aid to know that the EU was behind it. So, wherever I go, I always wear a jacket with the European flag on it. I try and communicate as much as I can, but of course, this has to be passed on by the media, and the good news is that 9 out of 10 of our citizens are very proud of the fact that the EU is such a big player in terms of humanitarian aid. Thank you.

Challenges for INGOs in aid

Q: It's a good day for journalists. So, on the first question, I did listen to your speech, but I also listened to Christian Aid at an event last month, who said they actually withdrew from the space, because they realised that they were coming in between you, the funder, and the local actors they were meant to support, and they could no longer justify their role in the humanitarian system. You'd be aware that lots of INGOs are going through this. Christian Aid didn't promote this largely because it involved laying off lots of Western aid workers, but I also listened to a woman from a North African NGO who said, look, you trust Oxfam, you trust UNOPS, look at what happened there, and you talk about the Court of Auditors. Why don't we trust the people we are claiming to support who are the local actors? So, that's on the first point, and conscious of time, I did not hear an answer to the third question, yes or no, do you support bringing humanitarian aid into global Europe, and I didn't hear an answer, yes or no, do you support inviting the Taliban, not to discuss humanitarian access, because ECHO has been talking about that with the Taliban for years, to discuss migration returns. It's different to the M23 example.

Spokesperson: The last question you should ask to Commissioner Bruner, I think, is responsible for migration. I don't want to link migration to humanitarian aid. I'm Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid. Of course, when a situation of crisis occurred somewhere, the consequences is movement of population, fragile contexts, people fleeing war zones, and so on. But, you know, we have to have the global picture in mind. What is happening in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, in Iran, impacts us, and the crisis in the Middle East is a good example. And so, I think it's important to keep open all the channels of communication, and as you rightly said, we have a charge d'affaires in Kabul. We are still active, providing support, humanitarian aid to women. And so, it's important to stay involved in that region, because you didn't forget how the 9-11 started, you know. It started from there. So, it's important to have that, where we are not present, there is a blind hook, where radicalization is a danger, is a real threat. So, I hope that I answered your question, and when it comes to global Europe, I totally support this vision. It's at the core of the appeal, the communication on humanitarian aid in this shifting global world. We need to work together with Digimena, with international partnership. It's about providing more sustainable humanitarian aid in protracted crisis. Take the example of Syria. I met refugees that were in Turkey, in Jordan, for more than 14 years, and are still there. I went to Lebanon more recently, where more than one million people are displaced in the north, but the south is completely destroyed, as you know. And so, how humanitarian aid will resolve that? It's impossible. We need to work hand-in-hand, in a long-term vision, with cooperation and development peace nexus. It means implement in real this nexus. Thank you, Commissioner. Any other questions? I don't see any, neither online. Thank you for your participation. Thank you, Commissioner. Also for, as said, enriching your presentation and your replies with your personal experience and very concrete examples. We will see those of you who so wish to attend the VIP corner at one o'clock with EVP Virkkunen on the other measure adopted today by the College on the Satellite Services at one p.m. in the VIP corner. Thank you and wish you a good afternoon. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

🔔 Starter subscribers: Manage your topic preferences to receive a personalised alert when your topics are mentioned.