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At today’s EU summit, European leaders collectively pledged to raise their financial contribution to help respond to the Ebola crisis, bringing Europe’s total commitment to €1 billion.

Following today's donor meeting in Brussels to discuss the food crisis in the Sahel region of Africa, Oxfam deputy humanitarian director Graham MacKay said:

A special Eurobarometer report on development aid and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), published today by the European Commission, reveals that 9 out of 10 Europeans express steadfast support for overseas aid despite the economic recession in Europe.

European border closures and restrictions are dramatically worsening the humanitarian crisis for refugees and migrants and a decision to shift the EU’s responsibility for refugees to Turkey would see the bloc bargaining its core values and abandoning fundamental legal obligations. 

Despite 800 people drowning off Lampedusa in the Mediterranean on this day last year, Europe is still failing to deal effectively with the migration crisis, said Oxfam in a new report today, “EU hotspots spread fear and doubt”.

Today, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed the introduction of a cap on revenues of companies producing electricity with low costs and a solidarity contribution from fossil fuel companies. The revenues from these unexpected profits will be directed to people and businesses to help them adapt to the recent increase in energy prices as well as to invest in clean home-grown energy sources.

Today the European Commission presented its flagship European Green Deal. Oxfam welcomes the ambition of the deal to make Europe the first climate neutral continent, and to transform itself into a sustainable circular economy. However, it is vital that the European Green Deal ensures revision of Europe’s climate targets for 2030 in time for next year’s UN climate summit.

Today, EU finance ministers again failed to agree on an EU minimum tax for multinational companies. This follows a deal struck at the international level to implement a global minimum tax. 

“People have become complacent about COVID-19. Our global (health) funds are fast running out of money. Vaccine inequity is getting worse,” said former UK prime minister Gordon Brown today. 

ONE and Oxfam welcome that the highest amount of funding ever has been allocated to refugees and development programs in the European Union's 2016 budget.