Global Europe: A dangerous gamble for humanitarian action.

As humanitarian needs surge worldwide, VOICE published a new statement assessing the European Union’s proposed Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2035.

Humanitarian crises continue to escalate worldwide. Millions are affected by conflict, climate disasters, and displacement, making predictable and need-based EU humanitarian funding more critical than ever.

While VOICE welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to increase the EU external action budget to €200.3 billion, the design of the Global Europe Instrument raises concerns. Under the proposed Global Europe Instrument, humanitarian funding is folded into broader geographic and thematic pillars without a clearly protected humanitarian envelope. In the absence of strong safeguards, this increased flexibility could expose humanitarian resources to diversion toward political or foreign policy priorities, undermining the EU’s humanitarian leadership.

VOICE’s statement sets out six priorities for EU decision‑makers to ensure the next MFF truly supports principled humanitarian action:

1. Maintain the €200.3 billion Global Europe envelope throughout negotiations.
2. Anchor a non‑divertible minimum of €25 billion for humanitarian action in the Global Europe Regulation.
3. Preserve principled humanitarian action through funding mechanisms that reflect humanitarian principles.
4. Strengthen governance, transparency, and oversight of allocations and reallocations.
5. Guarantee priority access for humanitarian action to reserves for sudden‑onset crises.
6. Deliver on commitments to Least Developed Countries and fragile and conflict‑affected settings.

VOICE calls on the European Commission, the European Parliament, and Member States to adopt these recommendations as they enter negotiations on the 2028–2035 MFF.