REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Report on the European Union’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Policies and their Implementation in 2011
Date: 2012-09-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, civil defence, food aid, humanitarian aid

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 6.9.2012  
COM(2012) 489 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Annual Report on the European Union’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection 
Policies and their Implementation in 2011 

{SWD(2012) 254 final} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Annual Report on the European Union’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection 
Policies and their Implementation in 2011 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

When disaster strikes, help is needed, and is needed fast. Helping the world’s most vulnerable 
populations in crisis situations is a moral imperative for the international community and can 
make  the  difference  between  life  and  death.  Responding  to  this  imperative,  the  European 
Union and its 27 Member States is the world’s leading humanitarian  donor providing  about 
half of global funding for emergency relief to victims of man-made and natural disasters. The 
EU also promotes respect for, and adherence to, international humanitarian law. 

This  annual  report  focuses  on  the  European  Commission’s  humanitarian  aid  and  civil 
protection in 2011. The aim of these actions is saving and preserving life wherever people are 
in  need  of  relief,  and  preventing  and  alleviating  human  suffering,  whilst  preserving  the 
integrity and dignity of populations affected by natural or man-made disasters. 

The  European  Community  Humanitarian  Office  (ECHO)  was  created  in  1992  as  an 
expression  of  European  solidarity  with  people  in  need  all  around  the  world.  In  2004,  it 
became the Commission's Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid before integrating Civil 
Protection in 2010 to provide better coordination and disaster response within and outside the 
EU.  Since  its  creation,  the  Commission,  through  ECHO  has  channelled  around  €
 14  billion 
from  the  EU  budget  to  victims  of  conflict  and  disasters  in  over  140  countries  around  the 
 1 billion has been provided annually, helping 
globe. For the past five years, an average of €
nearly  150  million  of  the  world’s  most  vulnerable  populations  hit  by  natural  disasters  and 
man-made crises. 

Humanitarian aid is one of the two main tools at the disposal of the European Union (EU) to 
provide relief assistance to people outside the EU faced with the immediate consequences of 
disasters. 

The  EU’s  humanitarian  assistance  is  based  on  the  principles  of humanity,  neutrality, 
impartiality  and  independence.  Every  decision  taken  by  the  Commission  must  be  in 
accordance  with  these  four  principles  which  are  at  the  heart  of  the European  Consensus  on 
Humanitarian Aid. EU humanitarian aid is distributed without regard to any political agendas, 
and seeks without exception to help those in the greatest need, irrespective of their nationality, 
religion,  gender,  ethnic  origin  or  political  affiliation.  This  commitment  to  principled 
humanitarian aid is now also anchored in the Lisbon Treaty (Article 214 of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union). 

The  other  main  tool  is  Civil  Protection.  Thirty-two  countries,  including  all  EU  Member 
States, participate in a civil protection mechanism which provides assets such as search and 
rescue  teams  and  equipment  following  a  request  from  a  country  stricken  by  disaster.  This 
mechanism is operated by the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) in ECHO. 

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The  appointment  of  Kristalina  Georgieva,  in  2010,  as  the  first  European  Commissioner  for 
International  Cooperation,  Humanitarian  Aid  and  Crisis  Response  brought  these  tools 
together, strengthening the coherence of EU disaster response operations. 

The  European  Union’s  humanitarian  aid  and  civil  protection  policies  demonstrate 
commitment to supporting those inside and outside the Union in need of assistance when they 
are  at  their  most  vulnerable.  Such  assistance  contributes  to  fulfilling  one  of  the  strategic 
objectives of the EU’s external action, as set out in Article 21 of the Treaty on the European 
Union. 

At  the  same  time,  it  receives  wide  support  amongst  the  European  public:  a  very  recent 
Eurobarometer survey shows that public support for EU humanitarian aid and civil protection 
has further increased in recent years in spite of the economic crisis. 

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Nine out of 10 citizens (88 %) believe that it is important for the European Union to 
continue  funding  humanitarian  aid;  this  represents  a  rise  of  nine  percentage  points 
since  the  last  survey  in  2010.  Almost  the  same  number,  84 %,  are  in  favour  of 
maintaining humanitarian aid. 

There  is  also  a  firm  endorsement  (71 %)  of  the  Commission’s  role  in  coordinating 
EU  humanitarian  aid,  which  is  up  13 %  points  since  2010.  A  strong  majority  of 
respondents  (88 %)  also  supports  an  initiative  to  involve  young  people  in  EU 
humanitarian operations as part of an EU voluntary aid corps. 

As  far  as  civil  protection  is  concerned,  82 %  agree  that  coordinated  EU  action  in 
dealing with disasters is more effective than actions taken by individual countries. 

The survey on civil protection reveals concern about the possibility of disasters in the 
EU.  75 %  of  those  questioned  said  they  were  concerned  about  man-made  disasters, 
such as oil spills and nuclear accidents. Floods and earthquakes came next with 67 %, 
while 64 % said that they were most concerned about terrorist attacks and 59 % were 
concerned about armed conflicts. 

68 %  of  Europeans  are  aware  that  the  EU  funds  humanitarian  aid.  Four  out  of  ten 
(38 %) know about the EU’s coordination of civil protection. 

About  one  third  consider  that  they  are  well  informed  about  EU  humanitarian  aid 
activities, a level which is up by 12 % compared to the previous survey. In the civil 
protection survey, 19 % feel that they are well informed about EU activities. In both 
surveys,  respondents  chose  television  and  the  internet  as  their  preferred  sources  of 
information, followed by the press and radio. 

2. 

THE GLOBAL CONTEXT WITHIN WHICH THE ASSISTANCE IS BEING DELIVERED 

In  2011,  there  was  an  increase  in  the  global  level  of  humanitarian  crises,  disasters  and 
vulnerability.  The  trend  of  rising  needs  outstripping  available  resources  continues.  The 
delivery of humanitarian aid and civil protection is therefore becoming increasingly complex 
and difficult. Due to the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, there are more sudden-
onset  humanitarian  crises  and,  in  particular,  more  major  disasters,  such  as  those  which 
occurred in the Horn of Africa and in Japan. 

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In  the  course  of  2011,  according  to  statistics  published  by  the  Centre  for  Research  on  the 
Epidemiology  of  Disasters  (CRED)1  and  UN  Office  for  disaster  reduction,  UNISDR2,  there 
were  302  natural  disasters  of  varying  magnitudes,  which  killed  almost  30 000  people  and 
affected  206  million  others  worldwide.  Some  106  million  people  were  hit  by  floods  and 
60 million by drought, whereas 1.6 million were affected by earthquakes. Asia was by far the 
most  affected  region,  with  more  than  45 %  of  the  disasters  and  89 %  of  the  total  number  of 
victims  occurring  in  that  region.  The  consequences  of  disasters  are  devastating  and  varied: 
lives are lost, and housing, crops and livelihoods are destroyed. 

Although we have mentioned only a few by name, the impact of these disasters has stretched 
the  international  humanitarian  community  to  its  limits.  In  2011,  the  United  Nations  was 
obliged  to  launch  the  biggest  consolidated  funding  appeal  in  its  history  (€
 5.7  billion)  for 
humanitarian  needs.  There  is  an  increasing  mismatch  between  rising  global  humanitarian 
needs on the one hand, and the increasingly scarce financial resources available to respond to 
these needs, on the other hand, especially in the light of the economic and financial crisis that 
has  hit  many  western  donor  countries.  Together with chronic vulnerability  in many  parts of 
the world, this continues to have a direct bearing on the lives of millions of people in need of 
assistance. 

It  also  means  that  donors  have  to  redouble  their  efforts  to  respond  to  disasters  in  a  more 
efficient  and  effective  manner,  by  making  even  better  use  of  their  limited  resources.  For 
ECHO,  this  translates  into  identifying  efficiency  gains  when  working  with  its  partners  and 
into investing more into preparedness and resilience of vulnerable communities. At the same 
time, the synergies between humanitarian aid and civil protection need to be fully exploited. 
In addition, the EU as part of the overall international humanitarian system has a key role 
in  encouraging  other  countries  and  regions  to  increase  their  participation  in  humanitarian 
preparedness  and  response,  with  a  view  to  mobilising  the  growing  resources  of  emerging 
economies for humanitarian action and disaster response more effectively. 

Man-made humanitarian disasters are still caused for the most part by internal civil conflicts, 
with civilian populations being increasingly exposed to violence and suffering. This type of 
conflict is often marked by the disregard of the belligerents for international humanitarian law 
and principles, thereby shrinking the humanitarian space, i.e. the areas in which humanitarian 
relief  can  be  provided  neutrally  and  impartially  without  impediment.  In  this  context, 
humanitarian  access  to  people  in  need  and  the  safety  and  protection  of  civilian  populations 
and humanitarian workers have become more and more problematic. The overall situation and 
working  environment  has  deteriorated  in  all  these  respects,  particularly  in  Somalia,  the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Afghanistan and North Korea. 

In  response  to  these  challenges,  there  is  a  growing  understanding  within  the  international 
humanitarian community of the need to put further effort and emphasis on preparedness and 
on  resilience  of  vulnerable  communities  to  enable  them  to  cope  better  with  disasters, 
thereby reducing the devastating impact on affected populations and their livelihoods. 

Also, the long-term impact on lives and livelihoods in the aftermath of major crises, such as 
the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the Pakistan floods, provides an illustration of how crucial it 
is to adequately address longer-term rehabilitation and development needs, at the very earliest 
stages  of  a  humanitarian  response.  Only  if  humanitarians  and  development  actors  work 
together  hand  in  hand  will  there  be  a  chance  to  reduce  the  devastating  impact  of  recurring 

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www.cred.be. 
www.unisdr.org. 

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disasters  on  the  prospects  for  sustainable  development.  In  this  respect,  work  continued  in 
2011  on  Linking  relief,  rehabilitation  and  development  (LRRD),  for  example  by 
Commission services jointly programming food security budgets in certain regions and close 
cooperation with the Instrument for Stability (short-term measures) on early recovery. Efforts 
made include the elaboration of a common methodology and its testing, intensification of the 
humanitarian  and  development  actors' joint work and a number of  innovative approaches in 
terms of practical implementation on the ground. 

3. 

THE EU’S HUMANITARIAN AID AND CIVIL PROTECTION ACTIVITIES IN 2011 

Through the Commission (ECHO), the EU provided substantial needs-based EU humanitarian 
assistance and facilitated the provision of European in-kind civil protection assistance in 2011 
for a total of €

 1 154 million, consisting of: 

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Humanitarian  assistance  to  approximately  117  million  people3  in  91  non-EU 
countries, which represents an average cost of 10 Euros per beneficiary; 

Rapid  response  to  18  requests  for  assistance  from  the  civil  protection  mechanism, 
within and outside the EU. 

The initial humanitarian aid budget of €
 853 million was supplemented on several occasions 
in  order  to  respond  to  new  crises  and  natural  disasters  occurring  during  the  year,  i.e.  the 
internal conflict in Libya, the post-electoral crisis in the Ivory Coast, the famine caused by the 
drought and complicated by conflict in the Horn of Africa, the conflict in Sudan around the 
independence of South Sudan and the flooding in Pakistan. In order to meet these additional 
needs,  further  funding  was  mobilised  via  transfers  of  funds  from  the  EU’s  Emergency  Aid 
Reserve, through the use of the 10th European Development Fund reserved for humanitarian 
aid  in  African,  Caribbean  and  Pacific  countries,  via  EFTA4  contributions  and  by  transfers 
from other budget lines within the EU budget’s external aid heading (Heading 4). 

Of  the  total  EU  funding  provided  in  2011,  an  estimated  42 %  was  allocated  to  protracted 
crises, 38 % was needed to respond to natural disasters and 20 % was used for ad hoc crises 
and interventions. 

Natural  disasters  continued  to  cause  human  suffering  and  severe  damage  throughout  the 
world  in  2011.  In  dealing  with  this  type  of  disaster,  the  Commission  has  adopted  a  two-
pronged strategy: 

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rapid  response,  by  providing  humanitarian  aid  and  by  facilitating  and  coordinating 
the civil protection assistance provided by EU Member States to other States (EU or 
third countries) participating in the Civil Protection Mechanism on a voluntary basis 
upon activation of the Mechanism; 

disaster preparedness, by identifying those geographical areas and populations which 
are  most  vulnerable  to  natural  disasters  and  for  which  specific  programmes  on 
disaster preparedness are established. 

In 2011, the Commission provided humanitarian assistance to cope with the consequences of 
the following disasters: 

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Of  which  105  million  through  humanitarian  aid  and  food  aid  and  12  million  through  disaster 
preparedness activities. 
European Free Trade Association. 

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The triple disaster of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear explosion in Japan; 

Droughts in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad), in the Horn 
of  Africa  (Djibouti,  Ethiopia,  Kenya,  Somalia)  and  in  Central  and  South  America 
(Paraguay, Bolivia, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala); 

Floods in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Peru; 

Cyclones/Hurricanes/Tropical  storms  in  South  East  Asia  (Cambodia,  Laos  PDR, 
Philippines,  Thailand,  Vietnam),  in  Central  America  (El  Salvador,  Guatemala, 
Honduras, Nicaragua) and in the Caribbean (St Lucia); 

Epidemics in Cameroon. 

3.1. 

Humanitarian Aid interventions 

In 2011, a major humanitarian crisis developed in the Horn of Africa. A combination of high 
food prices, failed rainy seasons, an increase in population displacements (mainly due to the 
ongoing  violent  conflict  in  Somalia),  and  restricted  humanitarian  access,  led  to  a  rapid 
deterioration  in  the  food  security  and  nutritional  status  of  vulnerable  populations.  The 
situation  was  further  exacerbated  by  underlying  poverty  and  reduced  ability  to  cope.  In  the 
second  half  of  2011,  more  than  13  million  people  were  affected  by  the  crisis.  The 
Commission  responded  by  mobilising  more  than  €
 181  million  to  assist  the  most  vulnerable 
population groups in the region. 

Beyond disaster response, the Commission is also striving to enhance disaster prevention and 
preparedness, both within the EU and beyond, especially in regions that are prone to natural 
disasters.  Disaster  risk  reduction  and  adaptation  to  climate  change  were  a  clear  focus  for 
funding in 2011. ECHO launched new DIPECHO programmes in South Asia, South America, 
the Pacific and the Caribbean. It also mainstreamed risk reduction into overall aid operations. 

As far as ‘man-made crises’ are concerned, political protests in Libya turned into a civil war, 
which  ultimately  required  a  NATO-led  military  air  campaign  to  protect  the  civilian 
population. The conflict in Libya led to a major refugee crisis at the borders with Tunisia and 
Egypt,  requiring  EU  assistance for the humanitarian response and the  repatriation  of  people 
who  had  been  working  in  Libya  fleeing  the  conflict.  The  post-electoral  crisis  in  the  Ivory 
Coast continued, which also affected neighbouring countries. In Iraq, the security situation 
has been deteriorating since the parliamentary election on 7 March 2010; insurgents continued 
to target police and soldiers, as well as civilians, in mass explosions, in an effort to undermine 
confidence in the Iraqi security forces, as US troops were preparing to leave Iraq by the end of 
2011. 

In addition to these crises, the Commission continued to intervene in several protracted and 
complex emergencies. Examples include the following: 

Sudan  and  South  Sudan:  the  formal  separation  of  Sudan  into  two  countries  was  initially 
peaceful,  when  South  Sudan  became  the  world’s  196th  country  on  9  July  2011.  However, 
armed conflict along the new border is continuing to worsen and difficult negotiations are still 
pending  to  resolve  a  number  of  outstanding  disagreements  (e.g.  oil  revenue  sharing,  border 
demarcation).  In  the  meantime,  there  have  been  more  new  emergencies  leading  to  a  sharp 
increase in humanitarian needs in both Sudan and South Sudan. 

The  occupied  Palestinian  territory,  where  the  population  continues  to  live  under  Israeli 
occupation  in  severe  hardship  and  social  distress.  A  protracted  socio-economic  crisis, 
characterised  by  harsh  restrictions  on  movement  and  the  continuing  destruction  of  physical 

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assets, has led to major increases in poverty and unemployment. In the West Bank, the growth 
in Israeli settlement, violence by settlers against Palestinians, and the security barrier continue 
to  affect  everyday  life.  Strict  controls  on  Palestinians’  entry  to  Israel  and  East  Jerusalem 
remain  in  place,  and  farmers  are  having  difficulty  in  accessing  their  land  near  the  security 
barrier  and  settlements.  Thousands  of  house  owners  continue  to  be  threatened  by  pending 
demolition orders and an increase in the number of evictions. 

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there are 1.9 million displaced people out of a 
total  population  of  some  71  million,  the  humanitarian  situation  is  still  precarious  in  many 
regions. There is a significant loss in harvest due to access problems and conflict. There are 
still many internally displaced people in conflict-affected North and South Kivu, in the East of 
the country. Although there has been a gradual stabilisation in some parts of North Kivu, the 
situation  in  other  parts  has  seriously  worsened,  making  the  overall  situation  extremely 
unstable.  In  Equateur  Province,  inter-ethnic  conflict  at  the  end  of  2009,  followed  by  an 
intervention  by  the  army,  led  to  significant  displacement  and  outflow  of  refugees  to  the 
Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic (CAR). Persistent attacks by the Lord’s 
Resistance  Army  (LRA)  have  led  to  massive  displacements  within  Province  Orientale  and 
significant refugee outflows to CAR. 

Despite the heavier toll taken by complex emergencies over the past few years, and the lack of 
respect for humanitarian principles and the safety and security of humanitarian workers, there 
are  also  cases  where  the  humanitarian  situation  has  improved.  For  example,  there  are 
indications  that  conditions  improve  when  humanitarian  actions  are  closely  followed  by 
appropriately targeted development actions5. 

3.2. 

Civil protection operations 

As  regards  civil  protection,  the  EU  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  was  activated  18  times 
during the year6 (4 times within and 14 times outside the EU), to respond to events such as the 
explosion at a naval base in Cyprus, forest fires in Greece and Albania, floods in Pakistan, an 
earthquake in Turkey, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In addition, EU citizens and third 
country nationals were evacuated during the crisis in Libya. Experts were dispatched within 
and outside the EU as part of twelve assessment and coordination missions. 

The  proposal  for  a  Decision  on  a  Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  was  adopted7  by  the 
Commission at the end of 2011. It is still under discussion by the Council and the Parliament. 
Further details are contained in section 4 below. 

The  aim  of  this  legislative  proposal  is  to  strengthen  the  instruments  of  the  Mechanism.  At 
present,  the  deployment  of  EU  civil  protection  assets  is  largely  based  on  ad hoc  voluntary 
offers from the 32 participating States. The Commission intends to move to a system which is 
pre-planned and enables immediate action to be taken.  

3.3. 

Financial and human resources 

ECHO has more than 300 people working at its headquarters in Brussels and more than 400 in 
44  field  offices  located  in  38  countries  around  the  world.  Immediately following  a  disaster, 
humanitarian experts are on the ground to carry out needs assessments, and also to monitor 
the implementation of the EU-funded humanitarian projects. This needs-based approach is a 

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As  further  explained  with  concrete  examples  in  the  accompanying  document.  See  examples  of  Chad, 
Burundi/Tanzania or, in Chapter 3.9, on transition and resilience. 
18 activations, 3 pre-alerts and 6 monitoring requests. 
COM(2011)934 final, adopted on 20.12.2011. 

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key  characteristic  of  EU  humanitarian  aid  and  how  it  is  distributed  to  about  200  partners 
composed  of  non-governmental  organisations,  United  Nations  agencies,  other  international 
organisations  (such  as  the  International  Committee  of  the  Red  Cross,  the  International 
Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies) and some specialised agencies 
from EU Member States. 

It  is  important  for  ECHO  to  have  a  wide  range  of  partners,  as  this  enables  it  to  cover  a 
growing list of needs in different parts of the world, often in increasingly complex situations. 
ECHO-managed grants and contributions are made by selecting the best proposals received. 
In  2011,  funding  was  distributed  among  ECHO’s  partners  as  follows:  NGOs  50 %,  UN 
agencies 36 % and international organisations 14 %. 

Humanitarian  organisations  are  faced  with  increasing  problems  of  gaining  access  to  the 
people that need help. This is due to tightening of the humanitarian space by governments and 
armed  groups  who  disregard  even  the  most  basic  protection  granted  under  international 
humanitarian  law  on  the  one  hand,  and  as  a  result  of  security  constraints  on  the  other. 
Increasingly, governments are imposing restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid (e.g. 
Sri  Lanka).  In  many  conflict  zones  (e.g.  DRC,  Somalia,  Sudan)  humanitarian  workers  are 
witnessing  particularly  brutal  methods  of  warfare,  including  the  targeting  of  civilians  and 
frequently the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. 

In  addition,  the  incidence  of  attacks  on  humanitarian  aid  workers,  including  kidnappings, 
expulsions and killings, appears to be on the rise. Donors have to face the fact that not only 
the safety of humanitarian staff, but also the funding and infrastructure that they provide, is at 
risk.  Some  governments  are  willing  to  go  to  the  extreme  of  expropriating  or  ‘borrowing’ 
funds and property financed by donors and/or expelling humanitarian aid organisations once 
they have been stripped of their assets. 

4. 

HUMANITARIAN AND CIVIL PROTECTION ASSISTANCE POLICY 

At policy level, in 2011 the Commission focused on the following strategic initiatives: 

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Presentation of legislative proposals on the EU’s civil protection with the aim of 
substantially  strengthening  the  existing  instruments.  At  present,  the  deployment  of 
EU civil protection teams and assets is based largely on ad hoc voluntary offers from 
participating States. Although the EU Civil Protection Mechanism already plays an 
important role in supporting, coordinating and complementing the process of mutual 
assistance,  the Commission  is proposing to move  to  a  system  which is pre-planned 
and  immediate.  In  this  context,  preparations  have  started  in  order  to  create  a  more 
efficient Emergency Response Centre in 2013, which will be the successor of the 
Monitoring  and  Information  Centre  (MIC).  It  will  be  a  genuine  24/7  fully  fledged 
Centre that will allow the EU to take a more pro-active role in planning, preparing, 
operational coordination and logistical support. 

Moves to  establish  a European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps, as required 
by  the  Lisbon  Treaty  (Article  214  (5)  TFEU).  In  2011,  ECHO  initiated  a  public 
consultation  and  an  impact  assessment,  as  well  as  the  launch  of  pilot  projects.  The 
results of these activities will feed into a proposal for a legislative framework setting 
up the Corps expected to be adopted in 2012. 

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ECHO also placed particular emphasis on selected horizontal policy priorities, in line with 
the commitments of the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid8 and its Action Plan. 
These policy priorities include, for instance, the further roll-out of the EU humanitarian food 
assistance policy.  The negotiations  for the  modernisation of the Food Aid Convention took 
place  against  this  background.  In  order  to  enhance  the  efficiency  and  effectiveness  of  joint 
efforts to meet food security and nutrition needs, the Commission signed a Statement of Intent 
on  "Programmatic  Cooperation  on  Food  Security  and  Nutrition"  with  three  UN  agencies: 
FAO, WFP and IFAD. 

The Commission supported disaster preparedness actions in regions that are prone to natural 
disasters,  in  order  to  help  local  communities  to  react  rapidly  and  efficiently  when  disaster 
occurs,  enabling  many  lives  to  be  saved.  This  support  is  provided  through  the  DIPECHO 
programmes  launched  in  2010  and  new  programmes  in  South  Asia,  Pacific,  South  America 
and the Caribbean. Contribution to disaster preparedness goes well beyond DIPECHO action 
plans, as many of the major humanitarian financing decisions include disaster preparedness or 
mitigation  of  disaster  impacts  among  their  objectives.  Mainstreaming  is  based  on  activities 
related  to  infrastructure  support,  advocacy  and  public  awareness,  small-scale  mitigation, 
mapping  and  data  computerisation,  early  warning  systems,  education, 
institutional 
strengthening and climate change activities. 

Under  its  civil  protection  mandate,  ECHO  encouraged  and  facilitated  cooperation  between 
the 32 States9 participating in the Civil Protection (CP) Mechanism. In doing so, it seeks to 
improve  the  effectiveness  of  systems  for  preventing  and  protecting  against  natural, 
technological or man-made disasters in Europe. 

The  Commission  also  started  collecting  information  as  part  of  an  18-month  good  practice 
programme  for  disaster  prevention,  focusing  on  specific  disasters  (earthquakes,  tsunamis, 
floods,  storms,  droughts  and  heat  waves)  and  horizontal  measures  (such  as  planning  and 
infrastructure  design).  The  implementation  of  the  CP  Mechanism  ensures  that  people,  the 
environment,  property  and  cultural  heritage  are  better  protected  in  the  event  of  disasters.  In 
the  area  of  preparedness,  EU  support  focused  on  early  warning  systems,  modules  and  the 
training programme of the Civil Protection Mechanism (over 890 experts were trained in 2011 
and five full-scale exercises were supported). In addition, the Commission provided financial 
support  to  a  number  of  preparedness  cooperation  projects  (setting  up  a  team  for  the 
evacuation  of  citizens,  evacuation  in  the  event  of  a  nuclear  incident,  cave  rescue  awareness 
raising and the clean-up of shore lines polluted by oil). 

Assistance based on resources that are made available by Member States was provided within 
those  EU  and  third  countries  affected  by  disasters,  in  response  to  a  request  from  the 
government of the country concerned. 

8 

9 

Adopted  by  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Commission  on  18  December  2007  — OJ 
2008/C/25/01 of 30.1.2008. 
The 27 EU Member States, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Croatia and fYRoM. 

EN 

9 

   EN