“Over the last two years, we have become a major humanitarian donor to Ukraine, against whom Russia launched a brutal war of aggression, spurring the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II,” Radosław Sikorski said.

The head of the Polish MFA also invited the participants to attend next year’s European Humanitarian Forum during the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2025.  

The European Union is a leading global donor of humanitarian aid. Humanitarian needs have now reached an unprecedented level. In 2024, some 300 million people worldwide will need humanitarian aid, including due to armed conflicts and disasters related to climate change.

This year’s European Humanitarian Forum focused on forgotten crises and unstable humanitarian environment, as well as on a gap in humanitarian financing.

Among the participants in the discussion during today’s meeting were UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs M. Griffiths, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees F. Grandi, World Food Programme Executive Director C. McCain, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross M. Spoljaric, and EU Commissioner for Crisis Management J. Lenarčič.

 

Photo: K. Laskowski / MFA