A key element of our international activities is to collaborate, develop partnerships and exchange experience with professional organisations in the European Union. By opening an office in Brussels, we will further strengthen these links and give even more impetus to our activities in 2024.
CREATResili
We are proud to have launched the CREATResili project in 2024, funded by the EU Creative Europe // Creative Europe programme, which supports abused and marginalised women in Kosovo to receive vocational training relevant to the labour market. The projects enable them to become self-reliant and self-sustaining while coping with their trauma. For more information on the CREATResili project click HERE.
The rotating presidency of the Council of the EU
From 1 July to 31 December 2024, Hungary held the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a pivotal moment that shaped our priorities and strategic focus for the future. The Hungary Helps Program aligns closely with several of the EU Presidency’s key priorities, particularly in areas such as stemming illegal migration and supporting a consistent, merit-based enlargement policy. The Presidency provided a platform to highlight the alignment of Hungary Helps with the following EU objectives:
- A New European Competitiveness Deal
- Reinforcement of European Defence Policy
- A Consistent and Merit-Based Enlargement Policy
- Stemming Illegal Migration
- Shaping the Future of Cohesion Policy
- A Farmer-Oriented EU Agricultural Policy
- Addressing Demographic Challenges
Enlargement policy is particularly significant to us, as it is one of the European Union’s most successful initiatives. The EU remains committed to the integration of the Western Balkans, prioritizing their accession for economic, security, and geopolitical reasons. The Hungary Helps Program strongly supports this direction, particularly in providing local aid to stabilize regions and prevent forced migration.
We are also committed to closer cooperation with origin and transit countries in order to curb illegal migration. Through the Hungary Helps Program, we provide direct, local assistance to communities in need, helping them create sustainable living conditions and reducing migratory pressures at the source. Our belief is that aid should go where it is needed most, enabling people to improve their circumstances locally.
The EU Presidency also allows us to showcase the key priorities of the Hungary Helps Program and to continue building on our collaborative efforts through partnerships. Professional cooperation, coordinated action, and the exchange of expertise with European Union organizations remain vital to our international mission. Our presence in Brussels, along with other strategic locations, has further strengthened these relationships, giving a significant boost to our activities throughout 2024 and laying a strong foundation for future initiatives.
Pillar Assessment
To ensure full transparency in the use of funds, organizations seeking to manage direct EU funds must undergo a comprehensive, pillar-based assessment by the European Commission. Compliance with this assessment is a crucial requirement for participation in EU development policy tenders. By adhering to the pillar assessment procedure, the Hungary Helps Agency demonstrates to the European Commission that it can safeguard the financial interests of the European Union to the same standard as when the Commission itself oversees the budget. We initiated our pillar assessment in April 2024, with the objective of becoming a Pillar-Assessed Organisation within EU-level international development cooperation efforts.
DG ECHO Partnership
Since 2021, the Agency has been accredited by DG ECHO (Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations), which recognizes the Agency, as a government entity, as meeting the criteria to be designated a Member State Specialised Agency (MSSA). The Agency is the first organization in Hungary to attain this status as a partner of DG ECHO. With this partner status, the Agency is eligible to apply for European Union funds allocated for humanitarian purposes, allowing it to utilize central EU resources to implement humanitarian projects in accordance with EU guidelines and the objectives of the Hungary Helps Program. The Agency directly carries out these initiatives through its global network of offices.
Certificate of Quality in Humanitarian Volunteering
In March 2023, the European Commission awarded the Hungary Helps Agency the Humanitarian Aid Volunteering Quality Certificate. This certification attests that the Agency is capable of delivering high-quality solidarity activities in accordance with the principles, objectives, and requirements of the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (the Program). The quality certificate allows us to collaborate with other qualified organizations under the program to run humanitarian volunteering projects. These projects aim to prevent and alleviate human suffering, preserve human dignity, and strengthen the capacity and social resilience of vulnerable or disaster-affected communities in third countries. The initiative offers young people aged 18 to 35 the opportunity to engage in society through short- or long-term volunteer activities aimed at improving living conditions for those in need. All projects must adhere to the core principles of humanitarian aid: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, independence, and the "do no harm" principle.
