Publications

On May 2, the European Commission(EC) released its Proposal for a Regulation laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 and Communication ‘A Modern Budget for a Union that Protects, Empowers and Defends’ with its annex, followed on June 14 by a set of proposed regulations for external instruments. On May 23, the EC also presented its proposal for the EU budget 2019. In reaction to these proposals, the VOICE network shares the following remarks and recommendations with the EU Member States and the European Parliament.

In 2012 – 2013 VOICE engaged in the consultation organised by the European Commission when it developed its Resilience Communication as well as in the drafting of its Action Plan. Last year VOICE also contributed to the EU process leading to the EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, bringing forward a perspective from humanitarian NGOs.
Today, the Global Strategy remains a political vision and the upcoming new Communication on Resilience, which will be developed under the leadership of the EEAS, is perceived as an essential step in its implementation.
NGOs from the humanitarian and development sectors welcomed the civil society consultation that was organised on February 17th around the upcoming Communication on Resilience.
This contribution is based on meetings held with members and key points raised by them, on VOICE positioning and contributions to the EU policies on resilience and the Global Strategy, as well on the outcomes of the three workshops held during the civil society consultation.

VOICE together with Civil society networks jointly made recommendations ahead of the Finance For Development Agreement; since it presents an opportunity for disaster risk reduction (DRR) funding to be institutionalised. We call on developed countries to commit to:
1) Incorporate resilience building as a condition for providing OverseasDevelopment Assistance (ODA) to ensure that all new investments are risk informed, reduce risk, and are acceptable for those people who bear any new risk. e.g. through the introduction of resilience markers in funding applications.
2) Allocate 5% of ODA as funding for DRR specific activities
3) Provide a percentage (50%) of national DRR budgets directly to local governments for community-led DRR projects.