Conditions for a more effective assistance must be established after the coronavirus pandemic

Today the European Parliament held a debate on Foreign policy consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. MEP György Hölvényi, EPP Group Coordinator in the Committee on Development (DEVE) emphasised in his written statement that for a realistic European response, new approaches are needed in the implementation of humanitarian and development resources.

The politician highlighted: “The pandemic will cause numerous, yet unassessed problem and the economic depression will limit the available financial resources. Meanwhile the needs for humanitarian and development support are growing in the partner countries.”

The EPP MEP stressed that beside the direct humanitarian consequences of the  COVID-19 pandemic, long-term economic and social effects must be addressed too.  “We must avoid the formation of protracted humanitarian hotspots in regions such as North-Eastern Nigeria, Burkina Faso or South Sudan, which could be the starting points for migration to Europe.” He underlined: this is only possible if the distribution of humanitarian and development assistance will be determined along with the real needs of the given country, region and local community.

MEP György Hölvényi pointed out that in the current economic situation, the available resources must be utilised in a more effective way, it is a question of credibility of the European engagement. He added: “Increasing the effectiveness greatly depend on the dialogue conducted with the local communities. Local churches, which are unfortunately often discriminated in the Union’s development policy, can be the EU’s reliable partners in this work.”

“Now, when the citizens of the Union also need support, the development and humanitarian activities of local churches and the untapped reserves of their efforts simply cannot be ignored anymore,” concluded the Christian Democrat MEP.