As anticipated by the European Commission, President von der Leyen will announce in Rome during the special G20 summit on Afghanistan a support package worth around €1 billion for the Afghan people and neighbouring countries, addressing the urgent need of the country and the region.

This important investment comes as an important support for Afghanistan, as the socio-economic situation is deteriorating and the winter approaches, putting hundreds of thousands of Afghans at risk. However, this assistance will not be sufficient to avert famine and a major humanitarian crisis. As the five benchmarks set by EU Foreign Ministers haven’t been met, other sources of EU development aid to the country remain frozen and must be met before regular development cooperation can resume.

The support package includes €300 million for humanitarian purposes and will be accompanied by additional specialized support for vaccination, sheltering, as well as protection of civilians and human rights. Additionally, the Commission is working to make available at least €250 million for "humanitarian plus" support to Afghan people in urgent needs, notably in the field of health, in full respect of NDICI programming procedures.

This funding will be in direct support of the local population and will be channelled to international organisations on the ground, while respecting the principles of engagement established by the Council Conclusions agreed by EU Foreign Ministers on 21 September. Additional funds will be allocated to support neighbouring countries in tasks inherent to migration management, as well as in cooperation on terrorism prevention, fight against organised crime and migrant smuggling.

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