18.06.2025 – 17:00

Europäischer Rechnungshof - European Court of Auditors

Auditors call for an improved approach to remote management of EU humanitarian aid

• €918 million in EU aid approved under partial or full remote management between 2019 and 2023
• In hard-to-access areas, aid can sometimes be delivered only through local partners
• Not all partners in the delivery chain are EU-certified

Press release

Luxembourg, 18 June 2025

Auditors call for an improved approach to remote management of EU humanitarian aid

The specific risks associated with the EU’s humanitarian aid managed from a distance are not satisfactorily addressed, according to a report published today by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). The European Commission uses a remote-management approach when providing humanitarian aid through its partners in areas that are hard to access, either due to security concerns or restrictions imposed by local authorities. However, there are shortcomings in this remote management approach which the auditors recommend addressing.

Remote management of humanitarian actions entails specific challenges, e.g. inaccurate needs assessments based on unverified, unreliable or biased information, or inadequate coordination and reduced operational quality which hampers the effectiveness of aid. There are also significant security risks, risks of fraud or aid-diversion, and the resulting reputational risks. For all these reasons, the EU’s policy is to fund remotely managed actions only as a last resort. Between 2019 and 2023, the European Commission approved 164 humanitarian actions under partial or full remote management in 10 countries. The EU contribution to these actions totalled €918 million (i.e. about 8 % of the EU’s total humanitarian spending for the period). The auditors examined a sample of actions in Somalia, Syria, and Ukraine.

“Humanitarian workers are often prevented from reaching people in need,” said Bettina Jakobsen, the 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.”

The auditors found weaknesses in the Commission’s design of the remote management approach and the way it was implemented. The applicable guidance contains an unclear and outdated definition of remote management. This can mean that situations handled under remote management are not duly signalled as such, which may impact the monitoring and reporting of EU-funded actions. The auditors also say that – precisely because of the specific challenges it entails – remote management carries increased risks that the Commission does not sufficiently address.

Another issue identified by the auditors is that the implementing partners of EU-funded Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are not certified in terms of their ability to implement EU funds in line with the EU’s humanitarian aid principles and rules. The certification process should verify the NGOs’ capacity to adequately oversee how their local implementing partners deliver on the agreed objectives, the auditors say. Additionally, EU-based certified partners often chose to implement actions via affiliated headquarters based outside the EU. There should be reasonable assurance about the technical and administrative capacity of these implementing partners charged with managing EU funds, the auditors add.

The Commission’s network of field experts is very useful for informed decision-making and monitoring funded actions. Nevertheless, the auditors found issues in reporting by humanitarian aid partners, and some remote management reports were inaccurate or lacked information. The fact that partners are also not required to state what action has been managed remotely means that stakeholders are not informed of the countries, activities, funding, scope, and results delivered under this approach. Reporting should thus be made more transparent, the auditors stress.

Background information

Special report 15/2025 “EU humanitarian aid under remote management – can save lives, but there are weaknesses in the approach”, is available on the ECA website.

Press contact

ECA press office: press@eca.europa.eu