Commissioner Georgieva confirms: the aid reserve is exhausted

(BRUXELLES2) The European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, clarified this on Tuesday before the parliamentarians of the Development Committee (1): "It's only August and the hurricane season isn't over, but resources are running out, because it's been a year of one disaster following another.". The year was indeed terrible: "the earthquake in Haiti, the drought in the Sahel, the situation which continues to be difficult in Sudan and now Pakistan, there is almost no money left in the ECHO budget", the European Humanitarian Aid Office.

Additional funding

Additional funding from other budget lines of the European budget is therefore not excluded. This confirms information that this blog had already published (2). "We are working hard to make the best use of every euro. But we may have no choice but to return to you" she affirmed in front of the parliamentarians, who listened sympathetically to this request. As CDU-EPP MEP Elmar Brok said, "You gave us a good impression during the first audition. You confirm it to us. We appreciate your work". A feeling shared, as far as I could understand, by most of the deputies around the 5G2 round table which served as a meeting room that day.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

Lire aussi

• The EU needs a stronger crisis response system
• Emergency aid: the EU will soon run dry.