The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced yesterday in Brussels that Spain will donate “at least” 150 million euros for international humanitarian aid in a first package of funds for the year 2023.
Speaking at the European Humanitarian Forum organised by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, Albares said that his announcement was part of a “moral and political duty” and called for “action in accordance” with European principles.
Later, on his arrival at the EU Council meeting with EU-27 foreign ministers, Albares also announced a further contribution of “around” 55 million euros in humanitarian aid for those affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
Of this amount, 50 million will go to Turkey in the form of “soft loans“, while the remaining money will be used to provide assistance to those affected in both Turkey and Syria, the minister said.
Speaking at the European Humanitarian Forum, Albares warned that humanitarian needs are currently “skyrocketing” and admitted that despite “impressive efforts”, more resources are still needed.
“It is not surprising that funds for our humanitarian budgets are scarce at a time of uncertainty and economic shocks,” he said.
The Spanish minister called for an increase in the contribution of European Union (EU) countries to humanitarian aid and warned that it is “a matter of life and death” for the people who receive this assistance.
“We know that we have to go a step further. It is a matter of life and death for millions of people who are waiting for our support,” he said, in the presence of several EU foreign and cooperation ministers.
Albares pointed to wars and natural disasters as the “main drivers” of the increase in the number of vulnerable people in the world, and called for going beyond economic responses to alleviate these crises.
“To address the current needs we need more than just funds. We need to understand the root causes and work not only to address basic needs, but also to enable sustainable solutions,” Albares said.
In this sense, the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister stressed that “it is essential” to coordinate humanitarian aid programmes with peace and development actions.
Albares took advantage of his speech to vindicate the new Cooperation Law promoted by his Ministry, which was approved by the Spanish Congress of Deputies last February.
In total, 339 million people in the world need humanitarian assistance in order to survive, which is equivalent to one out of every 23 people on the planet, according to the organisers of the European Humanitarian Forum.
