UK Government to underwrite EU-funded aid programmes in event of no-deal Brexit

The UK government’s Department for International Development (DfID) has pledged to support UK humanitarian aid organisations in bidding for European funding, should there be a no-deal Brexit.

With Brexit negotiations still underway, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations(ECHO) has inserted the below clause in its grant agreements with UK organisations:

“For British applicants (non-governmental organisations): Please be aware that you must comply with the requirement of establishment in an EU member state for the entire duration of the grants awarded under this Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP). If the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, you will cease to receive EU funding or be required to leave the project on the basis of Article 15 of the grant agreement.”

With concerns that this will discourage UK organisations from bidding for relevant funding, ECHO has offered to fund the post-March 2019 outputs of any programme, where a UK organisation is the lead consortium partner or sole implementer.

This will apply only in a no deal scenario when ECHO terminates funding based on the above clause at the time of the UK’s exit from the European Union, and is aimed at enabling UK humanitarian aid organisations to continue bidding for funding from ECHOs core budget, without undertaking unmanageable financial and programmatic risk. Full conditions are published online, which include a time limit on funding applications made between 23 August 2018 and 29 March 2019.