Opening address by Commissioner Šuica at the High-Level Ministerial Policy Dialogue - Moving Beyond Crisis: Investing in Development from Day One

Moving Beyond Crisis: Investing in Development from Day One

Ladies and gentlemen,

We meet amid multiple protracted crises.

Lebanon is progressing on crucial reforms even as over one million people are displaced and need support.

Syria is trying to recover from over a decade of civil war.

And Gaza remains in limbo. They need essential services, like schools, sanitation, housing, food and water.

What do all crises have in common?

Their populations have displayed tremendous courage and resilience in dire circumstances.

But courage is not enough.

These people need more than moral support.

They need communities and an economy that enable them to rebuild their lives.

As Alexander often says: development is our first line of defence.

And that is a position the European Union is proud to defend together with you.

We must not wait for these crises to resolve themselves. Now is the time to build these partnerships so that our action can be part of the solution.

Our overarching aim is to combine humanitarian support with early recovery and move to longer-term development and resilience-building.

We want our external action to be coherent and effective.

We have to be grounded in reality.

And we have to understand and address the profound effects of conflict in these areas.

These principles are at the core of the new EU Integrated Approach to Fragility:

• Building resilience.
• Strengthening institutions.
• And creating opportunities for people to rebuild.

So that fragility does not become a permanent condition.

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In Gaza, this means early recovery.

And I would like to thank UNDP for partnering with us as we tackle the issue of solid waste disposal.

We have received clear commitments from Israeli authorities to cooperate with us as we run this project.

We need to build on this meaningful step, getting more projects off the ground. This is the path towards reconstruction.

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In Lebanon, we will continue to support the government's reform agenda, as we provide emergency support and help strengthen institutions.

I am proud to announce that this summer the EU adopted another 505 million euro to support Lebanon's reforms, recovery and stability.

This in addition to the previous half a billion euro that are already being implemented.

And in addition to the 45 million euro we allocated for the Ministry of Social Affairs to implement the delivery of cash assistance for vulnerable Lebanese through the AMAN programme.

Because, to borrow a European slogan, we must protect what matters.

And people always matter.

We believe this support will empower the Lebanese government to finance, manage, and deliver essential public services to the people of Lebanon.

And we see encouraging signs.

Let me commend Lebanon for the positive step last month, adopting the revised Bank Resolution Law.

This is essential for strengthening the financial sector.

The next step is adopting the equitable Gap Law, which will allow meeting conditions for an IMF programme.

There is plenty of work ahead.

But we will remain side-by-side with Lebanon every step of the way.

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Much like we have supported Syria's progress, helping create the conditions for a peaceful and genuinely inclusive recovery with strong institutions.

We want to create an enabling environment that attracts private investment towards key infrastructure.

Which is why we are aiming at an investment/private sector mission to Syria in November, hopefully leading to an investment conference in 2027.

Because, once again, development is our first line of defence.

Thank you.