BRUSSELS, 11 May 2016.  Tomorrow, European development ministers will gather in Brussels to further the discussion on the refugee crisis. Topics include migration and development, as well as the World Humanitarian Summit, which will take place in Istanbul on 23-24 May.

Ministers are expected to adopt conclusions on the Commission’s proposal to provide refugees worldwide with support beyond humanitarian aid, and discuss progress on the special EU-Africa summit on migration and development held in Valletta in November 2015.

 Tamira Gunzburg, Brussels Director at ONE said:

 “As ministers discuss solutions to the current refugee crisis, they must remember to think long term. Diverting overseas aid to spend at home on supporting asylum seekers, like several Member States are doing, is not the answer. Instead, some governments – for example the European Commission in its 2016 budget – have shown that it is possible to increase support to refugees as well as increase long term development aid.

 If anyone has the means to live up to this dual responsibility, it is Europe. In fact, 86% of the world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries, who are much less equipped to handle the influx. The World Humanitarian Summit will be a wake-up call in this respect: never before have long-term development needs been greater nor humanitarian crises more frequent, and the funding gap for both is staggering.

 The only way to halt this time bomb is to think bigger and ramp up both long-term development aid and humanitarian financing.”

 ***ENDS***

Notes to editors:

Contact, information & interviews: Andrea Ghianda // [email protected] // +32 (0)2 300 89 42 // +32 (0)471 89 64 22

 Foreign Affairs Council – Indicative programme – Background briefing

World Humanitarian Summit – More information

 European Commission communication – Lives in dignity: from aid-dependence to self-reliance

 ABOUT ONE: ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of over 7 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. Read more at www.one.org.