The European consensus on humanitarian aid. The EC legitimacy in question.

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The European Union, one of the main humanitarian donors, adopted a European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid on June 13th, 2007. This first Policy paper on EU humanitarian action has been adopted within a year, and has been the subject of extensive consultations with partners – NGOs, UN agencies and the Red Cross Movement. This ambitious joint statement attempts at defining, in a changing humanitarian context, the priorities of the EU humanitarian action : promoting humanitarian principles and IHL, enhancing coherence and coordination between the various EU external policies, improving the quality of aid, strengthening partnerships and reinforcing capacities to respond. However, the principles of neutrality and independence that lead EU humanitarian action are threatened by the lack of clarity of the text.