The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has identified issues in the remote management of the European Union’s humanitarian aid, according to a report released today. The European Commission employs this approach when delivering aid through partners in areas that are difficult to access due to security or local restrictions. However, auditors suggest improvements are necessary.
Remote management presents challenges such as inaccurate needs assessments, inadequate coordination, and reduced operational quality, affecting aid effectiveness. There are also risks related to security, fraud, and reputational damage. As a result, the EU prefers remote management only as a last resort. From 2019 to 2023, the European Commission approved 164 humanitarian actions under partial or full remote management across ten countries, with €918 million allocated to these efforts.
“Humanitarian workers are often prevented from reaching people in need,” said Bettina Jakobsen, ECA Member responsible for the audit. “The EU has a useful framework to deliver life-saving aid even in hard-to-access areas. We all want it to work at its best, and so we are calling for it to be improved.”
Auditors noted weaknesses in both the design and implementation of this approach by the Commission. They pointed out that guidance on remote management is unclear and outdated, which may affect monitoring and reporting of EU-funded actions.
Another concern is that implementing partners of EU-funded NGOs lack certification regarding their ability to manage EU funds according to humanitarian principles and rules. Certification should ensure NGOs can oversee their local partners effectively. Moreover, certified partners often operate through affiliated headquarters outside the EU without adequate assurance of their capacity.
The auditors acknowledged that the Commission’s field experts contribute significantly to decision-making and monitoring but highlighted reporting issues by humanitarian partners. Some reports were inaccurate or lacked information. Partners are not required to specify which actions have been managed remotely, leading to insufficient transparency about activities under this approach.