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 2014
Date: 2015-08-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, activity report, civil defence, epidemic, foreign aid, humanitarian aid, international human rights law, man-made disaster, natural disaster

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 21.8.2015  
COM(2015) 406 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 2014 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
Contents 

Introduction............................................................................................................................3 

Highlights.................................................................................................................................3 

The global context ...............................................................................................................4 

A continuing surge in humanitarian crises.................................................................5 

Violations of International Humanitarian Law...........................................................5 

Humanitarian aid operations ...........................................................................................6 

Disaster preparedness and resilience ........................................................................10 

EU Children of Peace.........................................................................................................11 

Link to other EU instruments.........................................................................................11 

Civil protection operations..............................................................................................11 

Financial and human resources ....................................................................................14 

Framework partnership agreement ............................................................................17 

Humanitarian aid and civil protection policy ...........................................................18 

Conclusion.............................................................................................................................21 

Additional information and sources.............................................................................22 

 
 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 

This report presents the Commission’s main activities and policy outcomes in 2014 in 
the  field  of  humanitarian  aid  and  civil  protection,  as  carried  out  through  its 
Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO). 

Mr Stylianides succeeded Ms Georgieva as Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and 
crisis  management,  on  the  1st  November  2014,  with  the  mandate  to  deliver 
assistance to alleviate humanitarian crises around the world and to foster cooperation 
among  civil  protection  authorities  across  Europe  in  responding  to  natural  or  man-
made  disasters  in  Europe  and  beyond1.  ECHO’s  mission  to  help  save  and  preserve 
life,  prevent  and  alleviate  human  suffering  and  safeguard  the  integrity  and  human 
dignity  of  populations  affected  by  crises  is  fulfilled  through  humanitarian  assistance 
and civil protection operations. 

Through  ECHO,  the  Commission  mobilises  help  for  people  in  need  across  the  world. 
This  assistance  is  a  fundamental  expression  of  European  solidarity  and  based  on 
Articles 196 and 214 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU, 
the EU’s legal basis for humanitarian aid and civil protection). 

EU humanitarian aid is a lifeline for communities and victims of new, recurrent and 
protracted  crises.  It  allows  them  to  prepare  better  for  future  emergencies. 
Complementary  civil  protection  operations  offer  immediate  support  in  the  form  of 
expert teams, rescue equipment and real-time monitoring of developing disasters, in 
the EU and elsewhere. When disaster strikes, timely and effective intervention by the 
international community can make the difference between life and death. The EU and 
its Member States rose to the challenge of the major needs in 2014 and continued to 
provide  a  major  proportion  of  the  total  reported  international  humanitarian 
response.2 

HIGHLIGHTS 

Through  its  humanitarian  aid  and  civil  protection  instruments,  the  EU  provided 
substantial  needs-based  emergency  assistance  in  2014  for a  total  commitment  of 
EUR 1 273 million:3  

• 

• 

Together, the EU and its Member States were the largest international aid 
donor and were at the forefront of the response to all major crises around the 
world, notably those in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, the Central African Republic 
and Ukraine, and the Ebola crisis; 

Approximately  121  million  people  affected  by  natural  or  man-made 
disasters, or protracted crises received help; 

1   With  regards  to  the  external  dimension  of  his  actions,  the  Commissioner  contributes  to  the  work  of  the  High 
Representative  of  the  Union  for  Foreign  Affairs  and  Security  Policy/Vice-President,  who  is  responsible  for 
steering and coordinating the work of all Commissioners in the realm of external relations. This approach fully 
takes into account the special modus operandi of humanitarian aid which must be provided in accordance with 
the  humanitarian  principles  and  international  humanitarian  law,  solely  on  the  basis  of  needs  of  affected 
populations, in line with the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid. 
According to data in the UNOCHA Financial Tracking Service (FTS) database; 
https://fts.unocha.org/pageloader.aspx?page=home). 

2  

3  

EUR 1 225 million for humanitarian aid and EUR 48 million for civil protection (EUR 28 million in the EU; EUR 20 
million elsewhere). 

3 

 
 
 
                                                 
 
•  Humanitarian  aid  was  provided  to  the  most  vulnerable  people  in  over 

80 countries;  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The  24/7  Emergency  Response  Co-ordination  Centre  (ERCC)  acts  as  the  hub 
for the Commission's crisis response system inside the EU and outside where 
possible.  The ERCC is also the first entry point of any call for assistance under 
the Solidarity Clause; 

The conflict in Syria continued undiminished into its fourth year and remains 
the  biggest  humanitarian  and  security  crisis  in  the  world.  The  humanitarian 
response  to  this  complex  crisis  continued  to  place  a  heavy  strain  on  aid 
budgets. In order to reach out to those most affected, the EU made available 
assistance  worth  over  EUR  3  billion,  making  Europe  the  single  largest  aid 
donor; 

Exceptional efforts were made at EU level to tackle the major Ebola outbreak 
in western Africa. The Commission was one of the first international donors to 
react  to  the  emerging  crisis  in  March  and,  by  means  of  various  instruments, 
contributed  over  EUR  414  million  in  direct  aid  to  the  countries  and  medical 
research,  bringing  the  total  EU  contribution  to  EUR  1.2  billion  in  2014.  To 
strengthen  the  European  response,  Commissioner  Stylianides  was  appointed 
EU Ebola Response Coordinator by the European Council in October; 

The first EU Resilience Forum, jointly organised on 28 April by ECHO and the 
Commission’s  Directorate-General 
International  Cooperation  and 
for 
Development  (DEVCO),  attracted  over  160  participants  from  a  range  of 
organisations  and  backgrounds.  The  Commission  demonstrated  strong 
international commitment to resilience, re-affirmed the validity of the thematic 
policy  approach  and  provided  guidance  on  how  to  strengthen  resilience 
further; 

The  EU  Children  of  Peace  initiative  was  funded  to  the  tune  of 
EUR 6.7 million in 2014, benefiting 155 000 children; 

The  EU  Aid  Volunteers  Regulation4  adopted  on  3  April  will  support 
humanitarian action and create opportunities for 18 000 people to volunteer in 
operations worldwide by 2020; 

The  new  Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  (UCPM) 
implementing 
legislation5 adopted at the end of 2013 introduced new elements, such as the 
voluntary  pool,  buffer  capacities,  advisory  missions  and  peer  reviews.  In 
addition to current UCPM participants, candidate and European Neighbourhood 
countries will have access to many activities; 

The  UCPM  was  activated  30  times  in  2014,  in  response  mostly  to  natural 
disasters,  but  also  to  nine  man-made  disasters  (civil  unrest,  conflicts,  oil 
pollution and accidents). 

THE GLOBAL CONTEXT 

The  global  trend  is  clear:  humanitarian  challenges  are  growing  in  number  and 
becoming more complex. The increasing vulnerability of certain populations gives rise 
to  devastating  humanitarian  catastrophes.  Endemic  internal  conflicts,  ranging  from 
asymmetrical  terrorism  to  conventional  war  and  in  many  cases  highly  ideologically 
charged, are intensifying. 

4  

5  

Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 establishing the 
European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (‘EU Aid Volunteers initiative’) (OJ L 122, 24.4.2014, p. 1). 
Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union 
Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 924). 

4 

 
 
                                                 
A continuing surge in humanitarian crises 

Like previous years, 2014 saw a continuing surge in humanitarian crises, including an 
unprecedentedly high number (four) of ‘level 3’ emergencies (the highest level in the 
United  Nations'  crisis  rating  system),  in  Syria,  South  Sudan,  the  Central  African 
Republic  and  Iraq.  Around  the  world,  armed  conflicts  and  attacks  on  civilians  are 
continuing, while natural disasters occur with increasing frequency and intensity. The 
number of people suffering from conflicts and displacement, or lacking the most basic 
necessities  such  as  food,  water,  medical  care  and  shelter,  is  constantly  on  the  rise. 
While disaster often strikes the most impoverished parts of the globe, the EU and its 
neighbourhood  have  also  seen  their  share  of  conflict  and  emergencies.  Protracted 
crises  also  show  worrying  trends  across  the  globe.  Needs  increasingly  outweigh 
resources and the delivery of humanitarian aid and civil protection is becoming more 
complex.  The  extensive  work  carried  out  by  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  in  2014 
made a big impact on people’s lives. 

In  the  course  of  the  year,  290  natural  disasters  killed  around  16 000  people  and 
affected  over  100  million  worldwide.6  Hydrological  events  such  as  floods  and 
landslides  were  responsible  for  over  half  the  deaths.  Of  the  over  100  million,  34 % 
were affected by flood events and 39 % by droughts. 

Climate change is one of the major causes of increasingly frequent climate-related 
events, together with population growth and patterns of economic development. The 
development  of  settlements  in  earthquake  zones,  flood  plains  and  other  high-risk 
areas has increased the likelihood of a routine hazard becoming a major catastrophe 
that affects many people. 

Violations of International Humanitarian Law 

Armed  conflicts  remain  the  major  cause  of  man-made  humanitarian  disaster. 
Civilian  populations  are  increasingly  exposed  to  violence  and  suffering.  The 
international humanitarian law and its principles are often not respected. 

As  in  previous  years,  humanitarian  organisations  faced  growing  problems  in  gaining 
access  to  those  in  most  need.  Such  access  restrictions  were  most  prevalent  in 
areas of conflict and/or due to the absence of the rule of law. 

The  overall  situation  and  working  environment  for  humanitarians  continued  to 
deteriorate, particularly in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and Ukraine. In other countries, 
in  particular  Somalia,  Nigeria,  the  Central  African  Republic  and  South  Sudan,  the 
security  situation  remained  volatile.  In  many  conflict  zones,  such  as  Somalia  and 
Syria,  humanitarian  workers  witnessed  particularly  brutal  methods  of  warfare, 
including the targeting of civilians and the use of sexual violence as a weapon. 

A  key  challenge  faced  by  the  humanitarian  system  in  recent  years  has  been  the 
growing gap between a rising number of people in need and a lack of resources to 
assist  them.  In  2014,  the  UN  launched  a  consolidated  funding  appeal  for 
USD 18 billion7  for  humanitarian  needs,  an  unprecedented  amount  due  partly  to  the 
rising  cost  of  response,  conflicts  having  more  protracted  impacts  and  deepening 
environmental vulnerability in some parts of the world. 

6  

7  

Statistics published by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and the UN Office for 
Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR); www.unisdr.org. 

FTS database (see footnote 2). 

5 

 
 
 
                                                 
Greater  challenges  require  donors  to  respond  to  disasters  more  efficiently,  making 
better use of their limited resources. For the Commission, this translates into: 

−  identifying efficiency gains when working with its partners; 

−  continuing  to  play  a  central  coordination  role  with  humanitarian  actors 

worldwide; and 

−  finding innovative funding options. 

HUMANITARIAN AID OPERATIONS 

ECHO  aims  to  save  and  preserve  life,  prevent  and  alleviate  human  suffering,  and 
safeguard  the  integrity  and  dignity  of  populations  affected  by  natural  disasters  and 
man-made crises (see Article 214 TFEU, the Humanitarian Aid Regulation8 and the 
European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid).9 

The  Commission  facilitates  coordination  with  and  among  the  Member  States  to 
ensure  the  efficient  delivery  and  complementarity  of  EU  humanitarian  aid.10  The 
overall priority is to maximise the impact of EU aid for people in need and to ensure 
that it is always delivered in accordance with international humanitarian law. The EU 
upholds  at  all  times  the  humanitarian  principles  of  impartiality,  neutrality, 

8  
9  

Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 on humanitarian aid (OJ L 163, 2.7.1996, p. 1). 
Joint  Statement  by  the  Council  and  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member  States  meeting 
within  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  European  Commission  –  The  European  Consensus  on 
Humanitarian  Aid  (OJ  C  25,  30.1.2008,  p.  1),  that  sets  out  a  common  vision  for  improving  the  coherence, 
effectiveness and quality of the EU’s humanitarian response. 

10   Article 214(6) TFEU. 

6 

 
 
 
                                                 
humanity  and  independence,  and  provides  assistance  to  the  most  vulnerable, 
irrespective of nationality, religion, gender, ethnic origin or political affiliation. 

As  always,  the  EU’s  response  to  crises  in  2014  was  driven  by  needs  and  tailored  to 
specific  circumstances.  Aid  was  delivered  in  a  variety  of  forms  and  across  sectors, 
including  health  (e.g. psychological  support, 
financing  of  clinics),  protection 
(e.g. activities  addressing  sexual  violence),  food  and  non-food  items,  shelter, 
water/sanitation, reconstruction and rehabilitation. 

The  EU  continued  to  support  relief  operations  in  response  to  several  man-made 
crises, many of which are becoming increasingly protracted and complex: 

• 

• 

• 

The Syrian conflict carried on unabated into its fourth year and remained the 
biggest humanitarian and security crisis in the world. Tens of thousands have 
lost their lives due to the fighting. Half the population have been forced out of 
their homes, with over 3.8 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. In 
addition to the in-kind assistance provided through the UCPM, the EU offered 
more  than  EUR  3  billion  in  assistance  to  those  in  need.  Aid  was  provided  to 
support some 12.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria and the 
millions  of  Syrian  refugees  and  their  host  communities  in  the  region.  EU  aid 
helped  to  finance  medical  emergency  relief,  protection,  food/nutritional 
assistance, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter and logistics services. 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/syria_en.pdf#view=fi
t 

The  people  of  Iraq  are  suffering  from  the  consequences  of  the  country’s 
worsening security situation. The escalation of violence in 2014 had a dramatic 
impact  on  the  humanitarian  situation,  with  over  two  million  more  people 
displaced  in  the  course  of  the  year.  In  parts  of  the  region,  displaced  persons 
are  trapped  between  frontlines  and  aid  cannot  get  to  them.  In  addition,  Iraq 
hosts almost a quarter of a million refugees from the fighting in neighbouring 
Syria. The EU has scaled up its operations and increased its humanitarian aid 
budget to EUR 163 million to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. In 2014, 
it  helped  provide  life-saving  healthcare,  food,  basic  shelter,  water/sanitation 
and  protection,  and  delivered  humanitarian  in-kind  assistance  such  as  food 
and other urgent supplies through the UCPM. 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/iraq_en.pdf#view=fit 

Plagued  by  unrest,  insecurity  and  political  instability,  the  Central  African 
Republic  (CAR)  is  another  humanitarian  hotspot.  Due  to  the  lethal 
combination  of  inter-community  violence,  frequent  natural  disasters  and  the 
overall  weakness  of  state  institutions,  over  half  of  its  4.6  million  population 
are  in  need  of  humanitarian  assistance.  The  EU  worked  tirelessly  to  draw 
international  attention  to  the  crisis  in  CAR  and  its  effects  on  neighbouring 
countries. As the largest donor of life-saving assistance to the country, the EU 
provided over EUR 128 million in aid for humanitarian intervention in 2014, of 
which  the  Commission  disbursed  EUR  55  million  from  December  2013 
onwards, including EUR 14 million for CAR refugees in neighbouring countries. 
In  addition,  the  Commission  organised  repeated  airlifts  of  aid  workers  and 
relief material into CAR. 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/car_en.pdf#view=fit 

•  South  Sudan,  the  youngest  and  one  of  the  poorest  countries  in  the  world, 
has witnessed a surge in internal tension and fighting. At least 10 000 people 
have been killed since the political conflict in the country turned violent at the 
end  of  2013.  Nearly  two  million  men,  women  and  children  have  fled  their 
homes,  with  some  470 000  seeking  refuge  in  neighbouring  countries.  The 
conflict  compounded  humanitarian  needs.  By  the  end  of  2014,  3.8  million 

7 

 
people  in  South  Sudan  had  received  humanitarian  assistance,  including 
245 000+ refugees. In 2014, the Commission provided over EUR 110 million in 
humanitarian  aid  in  response  to  the  crisis.  Total  EU  assistance  (including 
Member States') came to over EUR 267 million. EU humanitarian experts are 
permanently based in the region, working closely with relief organisations and 
monitoring the efficient use of EU funds in the light of humanitarian needs. 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/south-
sudan_en.pdf#view=fit 

In  addition  to  these  'level  3'  emergencies,  long-term  crises  caused  by  conflict, 
violence and natural disasters, including droughts and floods, left millions across the 
world  in  need  of  humanitarian  assistance.  In  2014,  the  EU  funded  operations  in 
response to a number of new or protracted emergencies: 

•  By  the  end  of  2014,  the  conflict  in  eastern  Ukraine  had  resulted  in  the 
displacement  of  more  than  600 000  people  and  growing  humanitarian  needs. 
The  Commission  redoubled  its  efforts  to  respond  actively  to  the  crisis.  It 
scaled  up  its  assistance  twice,  from  an  initial  EUR  2.5  million  under  an 
emergency  decision  adopted 
total  of 
EUR 11.05 million.  In  addition,  the  UCPM  was  activated  on  several  occasions 
to facilitate the transport of in-kind assistance from Member States. 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/ukraine_en.pdf#view
=fit 

in  early  August  2014, 

to  a 

• 

Typhoon Haiyan, one of the worst natural disasters in recent years, struck the 
Philippines  in  November  2013.  Its  consequences  are  still  affecting  the 
population. Months after the storm hit the country, killing more than 6 200 and 
displacing over four million, people were still struggling to rebuild their homes 
and  livelihoods.  The  EU  has  helped  more  than  1.2  million  people  with  over 
EUR 180 million worth of humanitarian aid, by contributing to the provision of 
shelter,  food,  clean  water  and  sanitation.  It  supported  the  local  population’s 
efforts  to  rebuild  and  be  better  prepared  for  future  natural  disasters.  The 
ERCC  played  a  leading  role  in  coordination,  information  exchange,  needs 
assessments, the deployment of expertise and the delivery of EU humanitarian 
aid and civil protection assistance. 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/where/asia-and-oceania/philippines_en 

•  In  western  Africa,  the  largest  ever  recorded  outbreak  of Ebola killed  close 
to  8 000  people.  The  affected  countries  and  humanitarian  organisations 
fighting  to  control  the  spread  of  the  disease  faced  complicated  challenges, 
including  high  infection  rates  among  medical  workers,  a  lack  of  medical 
equipment,  growing  food  insecurity  and limited  access  to  safe  drinking  water 
and  sanitation.  The  Commission  was  one  of  the  first  international  donors  to 
react  to  the  emerging  crisis  in  March.  With  funds  reaching  almost  EUR  140 
million  and  leveraging  an  additional  €100  million  from  the  pharmaceutical 
industry,  the  Commission  rapidly  allocated  the  funds  to  13  research  projects 
on potential treatments, vaccines and diagnostic tests, through an emergency 
procedure under Horizon 2020 and the Ebola+ call of the Innovative Medicines 
Initiative.  A  Global  Research  Collaboration 
Infectious  Disease 
Preparedness,  GloPID-R11,  was  also  funded  by  the  Commission  and  other 
funders  of  preparedness  research.  Overall,  the  Commission  contributed  more 
than  EUR 414 million  in  direct  aid  to  the  countries  and  in  medical  research, 
bringing the total EU contribution to over EUR 1.2 billion. The funds supported 
the  life-saving  work  of  its  humanitarian  partners,  enabled  the  deployment  of 

for 

11  

GloPID-R  is  a  network  of  research  funding  organizations  in  the  area  of  infectious  disease  preparedness 
research. Its main objective is to ensure research progress by launching a coordinated emergency research 
response (within 48 hours) in case of a significant new or re-emerging outbreak. 

8 

 
                                                 
medical  staff  and  mobile  laboratories,  and  provided  budgetary  support  to 
healthcare systems in the countries affected. The EU provided critical logistical 
support to ensure the rapid transport of equipment and experts to the region 
by air and sea. The ERCC provided a platform for the coordination of European 
assistance  to  the  region  (see  section  on  civil  protection  operations  for 
additional information). The Ebola Task Force met daily, enabling EU Member 
States, bodies and services, international organisations and other key partners 
to  exchange  information  and  coordinate  their  action.  Also,  ECHO  established 
an  EU  medical  evacuation  system  for  international  humanitarian  workers  and 
facilitated the delivery of substantial in-kind assistance from the UCPM states 
to the Ebola-affected areas. 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/ebola-in-west-africa_en 

Furthermore, throughout 2014, the EU maintained its focus on the world’s ‘forgotten 
crises’, allocating 17 % of its initial funding to assist people caught up in protracted 
disasters which often escape the attention of the international community, such as: 

• 

• 

• 

Algeria – Sahrawi Refugee crisis; 

Bangladesh – Rohingya refugee crisis and Chittagong Hill Tracts;   

India  -  conflicts  in  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  central  India  (Naxalite  insurgency) 
and in the North East of India;  

•  Myanmar/Burma – Kachin conflict and Rakhine crisis; 

•  Colombia  crisis  –  population  affected  by  the  internal  armed  conflict  in 

Colombia and Columbian refugees in Ecuador and Venezuela. 

The EU also provided humanitarian assistance to cope with the consequences of the 
following natural disasters: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

floods/landslides  in  Bangladesh,  Afghanistan,  India,  Nepal,  Kenya,  Solomon 
Islands, Bolivia, Paraguay, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, the 
Caucasus,  Ethiopia,  southern  Africa,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Serbia, 
Kazakhstan and Tajikistan; 

epidemics  and  plagues  in  western  Africa,  Cameroon,  Nigeria,  South  Sudan, 
Chad,  the  Democratic  Republic  of  the  Congo,  Ethiopia,  Ivory  Coast,  Niger, 
Uganda,  Afghanistan,  Bolivia,  Haiti,  El  Salvador,  Honduras,  Guatemala  and 
Nicaragua; 

forest fires in Chile; 

droughts in Haiti, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and southern 
Africa; 

harsh winter in Armenia; 

cyclones/hurricanes/tropical  storms/volcano  in  the  Philippines,  Indonesia, 
Bangladesh, southern Africa, the Caribbean and Ecuador; and 

earthquakes  in  the  Caribbean,  Bangladesh,  Haiti,  Nicaragua,  Guatemala  and 
the Caucasus. 

The Commission adopted a two-pronged strategy to respond to the disasters: 

(cid:190) 

rapid  response  –  providing  humanitarian  aid  and  facilitating  and  coordinating 
civil protection assistance; and 

(cid:190)  disaster  preparedness  –  identifying  the  most  vulnerable  geographical  areas 
and populations to be covered by specific disaster-preparedness programmes. 

9 

 
In 2014, the EU maintained its support for DIPECHO12 programmes for Africa 
and  the  Indian  Ocean,  Central  Asia  and  the  Caucasus,  South-East  Asia,  and 
Central and South America. 

Disaster preparedness and resilience 

Resilience-building  is  mainstreamed  in  EU  programming  in  order  to  maximise  the 
added  value  of  the  EU’s  assistance  to  the  most  vulnerable.  This  is  crucial  if 
humanitarian  responses  are  to  address  longer-term  rehabilitation  and  development 
needs appropriately from the start. The Commission’s strategy combines resilience, 
disaster-risk  reduction  (DRR)  and  DIPECHO  programmes  to  increase  overall 
effectiveness and implement the Resilience Action Plan. DIPECHO intervention is used 
to  develop  resilience  within  humanitarian  action  and  build  national  and  local 
capacities. 

Humanitarian  and  development  actors  need  to  work  hand  in  hand  to  reduce  the 
devastating  impact  of  recurring  disasters  and  improve  the  prospects  for  sustainable 
development.  The  EU  has  developed  a  disaster-risk  management  framework 
which promotes a holistic approach to natural and man-made risks across all sectors. 
This  involves  risk  assessments  and  planning,  improved  data  and  knowledge 
collection, sharing good practices (e.g. through INFORM13, peer reviews), developing 
minimum  standards  for  disaster  prevention  and  building  resilience  to  disasters  by 
including  disaster-risk  management  in  other  policy  areas,  including  climate 
adaptation,  cohesion,  development,  environmental  impact  assessment,  the  internal 
security strategy and research, health, nuclear safety and insurance initiatives. 

The  EU  promotes  resilience  and  disaster-risk  management  in  international  fora, 
including  through  the  establishment  of  sustainable  development  goals.  In  2014, 
ECHO  worked  intensively  with  other  Commission  departments  to  develop  an  EU 
position and play a leading role in shaping the 2015 Hyogo Framework for Action 
on Disaster Risk Reduction (post-2015 HFA) in the build-up to the Sendai Summit 
(March 2015). 

Evaluations  have  shown  that  ECHO-funded  DRR  actions  enabled  local  communities 
and  institutions  to  prepare  better  for,  mitigate  and  respond  to  natural  disasters, 
thereby  increasing  resilience  and  reducing  vulnerability.  ECHO  works  closely  with 
Member  States’  civil  protection  authorities  to 
improve  disaster  prevention, 
preparedness  and  response.  In  view  of  the  increasing  frequency  and  complexity  of 
disasters  in  the  EU  and  around  the  world,  ECHO  aims  to  enhance  the  coordination 
and  planning  of  EU  civil  protection  operations,  making  maximum  use  of  available 
expertise and resources and ensuring full complementarity with EU humanitarian aid. 
At the same time, it is developing effective prevention and preparedness policies with 
the Member States, seeking to strike a balance between national responsibilities and 
European solidarity. 

As  part  of  the  international  humanitarian  system,  the  EU  played  a  key  role  in 
encouraging  other  countries  and  regions  to 
increase  their  contribution  to 
humanitarian  preparedness  and  response.  This  included  working  with  emerging 
economies  to  mobilise  resources  more  effectively  for  humanitarian  action  and 
disaster response.  

12   Disaster  Preparedness  ECHO  (DIPECHO)  is  a  specific  programme  dedicated  to disaster  preparedness.  It  targets 

highly vulnerable communities in some of the most disaster-prone regions of the world. 
Index for Risk Management 

13   

10 

 
 
                                                 
EU Children of Peace 

Children  are  among  the  most  vulnerable  victims  of  humanitarian  crises,  but  child 
protection and education in emergencies are among the forms of humanitarian action 
that attract the least funding. Education requires a longer-term approach that cannot 
be entirely provided by humanitarian aid, so Commission departments (notably ECHO 
and DEVCO) maintained their close policy cooperation on education in emergencies in 
2014.  Coordination  has  been  established  at  EU  level,  and  complementarity  and 
synergy  between  the  EU  Children  of  Peace  initiative  and  other  EU  funding 
instruments,  in  particular  for  development  and  crisis  management  (including  the 
Global  Partnership  for  Education),  are  actively  encouraged.  In  2014,  the  Children  of 
Peace initiative brought aid worth EUR 6.7 million to 155 000 children. 

Link to other EU instruments 

The  resilience  agenda  has  promoted  new  approaches  to  combining  humanitarian 
aid  and  development  to  greater  effect.  By  working  together  to  analyse  risks  and 
vulnerabilities  and  set  strategic  priorities,  those  managing  humanitarian  assistance 
and  other  EU  instruments  have  been  able  to  identify  specific  areas  of  synergy  and 
coherence in many contexts, including: 

• 

• 

• 

Ethiopia – ECHO and the EU Delegation have launched the RESET programme 
combining humanitarian and development approaches to resilience; 

the  Central  African  Republic  —  the  newly  established  EU  Trust  Fund  (EUTF) 
focuses on linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) and resilience 
from  the  European  Development  Fund  (EDF),  the 
with  contributions 
Development  Cooperation  Instrument  (DCI),  ECHO  and  the  Member  States. 
The EUTF action complements intervention under the Instrument for Stability;  

the  Pro-Resilience  Action  programme  —  funded  by  DEVCO  under  the  DCI, 
PRO-ACT  focuses  on  crisis  prevention  and  post-crisis  response  strategy,  with 
contributions  to  safety-net  programmes  in  synergy  with  ECHO  assistance  in 
the countries in question. 

EU  instruments  for  Research  and  Development  have  contributed  to  enhancing 
knowledge  on  DRR,  civil  protection  and  crisis  management  through  a  wide  range  of 
projects involving various stakeholders engaged in research, policy making and field 
operations  (industry/SMEs14,  first  responders,  civil  protection  units,  decision-makers 
etc). In particular, the EU 7th Framework Programme on Research and Development, 
including  the  Environment  Programme  (overseen  by  RTD)  and  the  Secure  Societies 
Programme (overseen by HOME), have funded actions in support to Humanitarian Aid 
and  Civil  Protection  policies,  which  are  now  pursued  under  Horizon  2020  in  close 
cooperation with ECHO. 

CIVIL PROTECTION OPERATIONS 

One  of  the  EU’s  main  tools  for  providing  help  in  emergencies  is  the  Union  Civil 
Protection  Mechanism  (UCPM).  The  Commission  (ECHO)  encourages  and 
facilitates cooperation between the 34 UCPM states15 in order to improve prevention 
of,  preparedness  for  and  protection  against  natural,  technological  or  man-made 
disasters in Europe and elsewhere. 

14      Small and Medium Enterprises 
15  

The 28 EU Member States, plus Iceland, Norway, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro 
and Serbia. Turkey has signed the agreements to officially join the UCPM. 

11 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
The  UCPM  was  activated  30  times  in  2014,  notably  in  response  to  requests  for 
assistance,  pre-alerts  and  monitoring.  Most  of  the  activations  related  to  natural 
disasters, including: 

− 

− 

floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia; 

forest fires in Sweden and Greece; 

−  severe weather conditions in Slovenia; and 

− 

tropical cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis. 

Nine activations related to man-made disasters, including civil unrest or conflict and 
maritime pollution or accidents (e.g. in Norway and Cyprus). 

Assistance can take the form of in-kind assistance, equipment and related teams, but 
it  can  also  involve  sending  experts  to  carry  out  assessments  and  facilitate 
coordination.  If  assistance  is  required  in  a  non-EU  country,  the  UCPM  relies  on 
government  resources  and  usually  works  alongside,  or  hands  over  to,  humanitarian 
aid  personnel.  The  UCPM’s  operational  heart  is  the  Emergency  Response 
Coordination Centre (ERCC), which operates around the clock and which any EU or 
non-EU country affected by a disaster and overwhelmed by its magnitude can contact 
with a request for assistance. 

In 2014, the ERCC had its coordination mandate confirmed by the European Council. 
In  support  of  field  operations,  the  Commission  provided  EU  Member  States  and 
associated  users  with  reference  and  damage  extent  and  grading  maps  using  the 
Copernicus service (GMES Initial Operations-Emergency Management Service), for 
which the ERCC is the single entry point for activation. The service was activated 50 
times  (out  of  which  26  activations  for  floods,  3  for  forest  fires  and  4  activations 
related  to  refugee  and  Internally  Displaced  Persons  crises)  and  delivered  satellite-
derived  maps  for  various  types  of  disasters  or  crises.  The  ERCC  also  benefited  from 
the analytical and technical support of the Joint Research Centre, the Commission’s 
in-house scientific service (e.g. through GDACS16). 

16  

Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System, 

12 

 
                                                 
The  new  UCPM  legislation  puts  greater  emphasis  on  risk  management  and  disaster 
prevention  and  preparedness.  There  were  preparedness/environmental  missions, 
together  with  UNOCHA/UNEP17, 
the  Solomon  Islands  and 
Bangladesh.  Many  UCPM  countries  offered  assistance  to  South  Sudan,  Ukraine  and 
Iraq to support the efforts of national governments and/or international organisations 
to  address  deteriorating  humanitarian  situations.  Complementarity  between 
humanitarian aid and civil protection assistance was ensured in each case. 

to  Mozambique, 

The UCPM countries, ECHO and its partners made considerable efforts to respond to 
the  Ebola  virus  outbreak  in  western  Africa.  The  ERCC  played  a  pivotal  role  in 
coordinating  the  EU  response  from  the  start,  holding  regular  coordination  meetings 
from  early  summer  2014  —  well  before  the  World  Health  Organisation  (WHO) 
declared  the  outbreak  a  ‘public  health  emergency  of  international  concern’.  An  EU 
Ebola  Task  Force  was  established,  bringing  together  all  relevant  Commission 
departments  (HQ  and  field),  the  European  External  Action  Service  (EEAS),  including 
EU  Delegations  in  the  affected  countries,  various  UN  bodies  and  the  Commission’s 
humanitarian  partners  to  ensure  a  constant  exchange  of  information  between  all 
concerned.  To  bolster  the  European  response,  Commissioner  Stylianides  was 
appointed EU Ebola Response Coordinator by the European Council in October. 

As  well  as  coordinating  the  response,  the  ERCC  acted  as  operational  hub,  matching 
requests  to  offers  of  assistance  and  playing  a  major  role  in  facilitating  logistics  and 
transport.  After  the  UCPM  was  activated  in  August  at  the  request  of  the  WHO,  14 
UCPM countries provided in-kind assistance and expertise through the UCPM and nine 
provided  bilateral  assistance.  The  EU  coordinated  and  co-financed  transport 

17  

UNOCHA: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme 

13 

 
 
 
                                                 
 
operations,  such  as  two  round  trips  of  a  Dutch  naval  vessel  with  10 000 tonnes  of 
assistance donated from all over Europe. The ERCC supported over 100 cargo flights 
to  the  affected  countries.  By  the  end  of  the  year,  UCPM  countries  had  submitted 
transport co-financing requests for more than EUR 8 million. Also, the UCPM deployed 
four  experts  to  support  UN  disaster  assessment  and  coordination  (UNDAC)  missions 
in  Liberia,  Ghana  and  Mali.  Lastly,  but  no  less  importantly,  the  Commission 
established an EU medical evacuation system for international health workers, which 
was managed by the ERCC. This was successfully activated on a number of occasions 
and  ensured  the  medical  evacuation  of  international  humanitarian  workers  to  well-
equipped hospitals in Europe. 

In  May,  Serbia  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  were  affected  by  the  worst  floods  for  a 
century.  The  ERCC  responded  immediately  to  their  requests  for  assistance  by 
activating  the  UCPM  and  23  Member  States  provided  support  in  the  form  of  rescue 
boats, helicopters, high-capacity pumps and water purification equipment, making it 
the biggest ever civil protection operation of this type in Europe. Over 1 700 people 
were directly rescued by the EU teams. The immediate civil-protection response was 
complemented  by  EUR  3  million  in  humanitarian  aid  to  help  the  most  vulnerable  in 
both  countries.  Humanitarian  assistance  was  provided  to  half  a  million  people 
affected by the disaster. 

ARETE 2014 is a successful exercise of inter-service coordination and enhancement 
of EU disaster preparedness conducted in Belgium by ECHO and HOME. ARETE 2014 
simulated a complex chemical and terrorism situation including hostage-taking. It is a 
first-time  example  of  highly  representative  and  visually  enhanced  modelling  of  civil 
protection and law enforcement intervention on local, regional, national and EU level. 

FINANCIAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES 

ECHO’s  total  budget  was  lower  than  in  2012  and  2013  in  terms  of  commitment 
appropriations, due to payment constraints on Heading 4 (Global Europe) and the EU 
budget as a whole. This restricted the scope for increasing the humanitarian budget 
in 2014. 

At the same time, budget execution (in terms of payment appropriations) was 
the  highest  ever.  ECHO  received  an  additional  injection  of  EUR  346  million  in 
payment appropriations for humanitarian aid in December (EUR 256 million from the 
Amending Budget, EUR 30 million from the EAR18 and EUR 60 million redeployed from 
other  policy  areas).  This  was  used  for  outstanding  pre-financing  payments  to  non-
governmental  organisations  (NGOs)  and  international  organisations,  new  contracts 
for the crises in Syria and Iraq, and final payments on completed operations. 

Before the injection towards the end of the year, 2014 was marked by the insufficient 
level of payment appropriations, which had started to have an impact in the second 
half  of  2013.  In  line  with  sound  financial  management  practice  and  to  ensure 
operational  continuity,  the  authorising  officer  by  delegation  requested  budget 
reinforcements and applied conservative measures to limit the risk of running out of 
payments  before  the  summer  break.  This  included  reducing  pre-financing  rates  and 
implementing  the  Commission’s  2014  Worldwide  Decision  in  two  phases.  These 
mitigating measures gave rise to significant operational and administrative problems 
for ECHO's implementing partners. 

The  increase  in  conflict-  and  natural  disaster-related  crises  that  last  for  many  years 
means that ECHO needs as little of its funding as possible to be earmarked, so as to 

18  

Emergency Aid Reserve 

14 

 
 
                                                 
have more flexibility in managing its operations. It is also a key reason to improve 
the  effectiveness  and  efficiency  of  operations  and  find  innovative  funding 
options. 

In  the  course  of  2014,  ECHO  took  further  advantage  of  the  new  funding  options 
under the 2012 Financial Regulation19. Pursuant to Article 21(2)(b),20 it made greater 
use of external assigned revenues, as follows: 

− 

− 

in July, Austria contributed EUR 250 000 to the Children of Peace initiative; 

in  November,  a  contribution  agreement  was  concluded  with  the  UK's 
Department  for  International  Development  for  GBP 107.5 million  (approx. 
EUR 134 million) for action in the Sahel over a three-year period; 

−  also in November, in the context of tripartite cooperation between ECHO, the 
Government of Ivory Coast and France's Agency for Development, around EUR 
2.5  million  was  transferred  for  Ebola  preparedness  activities  in  Ivory  Coast; 
and 

−  a  EUR  1  million  contribution  agreement  for  Ebola  preparedness  activities  in 

Burkina Faso was concluded with Austria in December. 

EU funding was provided to the following regions:21 

19  

Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the 
financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1). 

20   Member States and non-EU countries, including their public agencies, entities or natural persons, may provide 

the Commission with revenue assigned to certain external aid projects or programmes financed by the Union. 

21  

For civil protection, the figures in the table are not broken down by country/region. 

15 

 
                                                 
 
ECHO 2014 BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION 
(commitment appropriations, rounded figures) 

Region/country 

€ million 

  % 

Africa 

Sudan & South Sudan 

Central Africa 

Great Lakes 

Horn of Africa 

Southern Africa, Indian Ocean 

West Africa 

572   

45 %

143   

77   

56   

116   

7   

174   

Middle East, Mediterranean and European 
neighbouring countries 

340   

27 %

Middle East 

Mediterranean 

European neighbouring countries  

Asia, Pacific 

Central Asia 

South-West Asia 

South-East Asia and Pacific 
Central & Latin America, Caribbean 

Central & Latin America 

Caribbean 

Worldwide disasters 

Civil protection 

315   

12   

14   

133   

10 %

8   

94   

31   
48   

24   

24   

4 %

38   

3 %

48   

4 %

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Within EU 

Outside EU 

EU Aid Volunteers 

Complementary operations 

TOTAL 

29   

19   

12   

1 %

82   

6 %

1 273    100 %

As  in  previous  years,  the  majority  of  EU  funding  (45 %)  was  allocated  to  Africa. 
Substantial assistance was also provided to the Middle East (Syria and neighbouring 
countries). 

Around  98 %  of  the  2014  humanitarian  and  civil  protection  budget  was  used  for 
operational  activities  and  about  2 %  for  administrative  and  policy  aspects. 
Operational  staff  represents  64 %  of  the  human  resources  and  the  rest  work  in 
administrative and policy support. 

ECHO ensured rapid and effective delivery of EU relief assistance with the help of 328 
staff members at its headquarters in Brussels and through its extensive field network. 
To  improve  the  Commission’s  response  to  disasters  in  non-EU  countries,  156 
international  humanitarian  experts  and  325  local  staff  members  were  employed  in 
ECHO field offices as of 31 December 2014.22 

The  worldwide  network  of  field  offices  allows  up-to-date  analysis  of  existing  and 
forecast  needs  in  a  given  country  or  region,  ensuring  adequate  monitoring  of 
intervention and facilitating donor coordination at field level. 

Framework partnership agreement 

As a humanitarian aid donor, the EU does not implement humanitarian assistance 
programmes.23  It  fulfils  its  mission  by  funding  humanitarian  action  by  partner 
organisations with which it has signed a Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA).  

A set of simplification measures was introduced in the 2014 FPA to enhance efficiency 
and the use of resources. As a result: 

− 

− 

the  partner  candidature  procedure  was  streamlined,  reducing  drastically  the 
time needed to sign an FPA, from 7-10 months to 2-3 months. The procedure 
now  involves  a  meeting  with  the  candidate  at  the  final  selection  stage  to 
ensure more accurate, transparent and efficient evaluation; and 

the  content  of  the  ‘single  form’  used  by  partner  organisations  to  submit 
project  proposals  and  for  operational  reporting  can  be  adapted  according  to 
partners’ specificities and the nature of the crisis; and 

22  

23  

See  the  Commission's  Communication  Reinforcing  EU  disaster  and  crisis  response 
(COM(2005) 153). 

in  third  countries 

It  delivers  one  operation  directly:  the  ECHO  Flight  programme  in  the  Democratic  Republic  of  the  Congo  and 
Kenya to provide logistical support in a region prone to access problems. 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
− 

the  ‘single  form’  has  been  structured  in  a  way  that  allows  ECHO  to  better 
extract  information  needed  to  improve  its  reporting  capacities  (e.g.  gender-
age  markers,  disaggregated  data  on  beneficiaries,  etc.)  and  ensures  the 
coherence of funded actions with ECHO priorities and policies; and 

− 

the volume of information to be provided in the 'single form' has been reduced 
and the encoding system has been simplified as far as possible.   

Partner  organisations  include  a  wide  range  of  professional  bodies  (European  NGOs 
and international organisations such as the Red Cross and the various UN agencies)24 
and  specialised  agencies  in  the  Member  States.  The  diversity  of  implementing 
partners  enables  the  EU  to  cover  a  growing  list  of  needs  across  the  world,  often  in 
increasingly  complex  contexts.  Commission-managed  grants  and  contributions  are 
allocated  to  projects  selected  on  the  basis  of  proposals.  Of  the  2014  actions  under 
signed humanitarian agreements: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

48 % were carried out by NGOs (109 partners); 

36 % by UN agencies (15 partners); 

14 % by international organisations (3 partners); 

1 % through a direct contract with ECHO Flight25 (1 partner); and 

1 % through a contract with Noha University (1 partner). 

HUMANITARIAN AID AND CIVIL PROTECTION POLICY 

ECHO’s  activities  in  2014  were  dictated  by  the  increasing  number  and  intensity  of 
occurring  crises.  At  operational  level,  ECHO  contributed  significantly  to  the 
coordinated efforts of the international community to respond to a record number of 
major crises occurring simultaneously.  

At  policy  level,  progress  was  made  on  several  important  initiatives.  The 
Commission  and  Member  States  developed  common  strategic  positions  and 
increasingly  aligned  their  support  on  a  range  of  ‘good  practice’  initiatives,  such  as 
innovative  improvements  in  the  allocation  of  humanitarian  aid  on  the  basis  of 
assessed  needs.  This  is  in  line  with  the  European  Consensus  on  Humanitarian 
Aid,  in  particular  the  commitment  to  established  humanitarian  principles  and  good 
practices  that  underpin  EU  humanitarian  aid,  including  humanity,  neutrality, 
impartiality  and  independence,  international  humanitarian  law,  human  rights  and 
refugee law, and the ‘good humanitarian donorship’ principles. 

Coherence between humanitarian and development aid is high on the agenda for the 
EU institutions and the Member States and they took several initiatives in this respect 
in 2014. 

The  Commission  took  humanitarian  action  to  increase  the  chances  of  survival  of 
people  affected  by  crises  and  disasters.  This  objective  was  achieved  by  means  of 
assistance  to  those  directly  affected,  improving  the  conditions  of  vulnerable 
communities and building capacities and resilience to disaster. 

In  the  light  of  the  above  and  the  diminishing  funding  available  to  donors,  it  is 
becoming increasingly important to base operational action and funding decisions on 

24  

25  

The European Community and the UN have signed a specific Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement 
(FAFA). 

The Commission’s humanitarian air service. 

18 

 
 
                                                 
solid  evidence  and  to  ensure  coherence  and  complementarity.  To  that  end,  the 
Commission  took  initiatives  during  its  chairmanship  of  the  UNOCHA  Donor  Support 
Group  (July  2013  to  June  2014)  to  make  the  humanitarian  system  more  efficient; 
these culminated in preparations for the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. The 
Commission held in-depth discussions with Member States and partners at the ECHO 
Partners  Conference  on  25-26  November  2014  in  Brussels  with  a  view  to  preparing 
forward-looking  policy  papers  for  the  European  consultation  that  took  place  in 
Budapest in February 2015.  

As a global donor, ECHO seeks to shape and boost the global humanitarian response 
through  new  and  innovative  approaches  in  sectors  such  as  food,  sanitation,  shelter, 
education  and  communication,  and  to  develop  innovative  solutions  for  disaster 
monitoring  and  preparedness.  On  15  January  2014,  experts  from  NGOs,  Member 
States, the private sector, the UN, academia and other Commission departments met 
for  a  roundtable  on 
in  humanitarian  aid  and  disaster 
management.  This  was  a  springboard  for  the  Commission  to  reflect  on  ways  of 
developing better science and policy interface in disaster risk management notably by 
advancing the uptake of research and operational results.  

innovation 

ECHO  views  effective  civil/military  coordination  as  essential  to  promote  respect 
for  humanitarian  principles  and  in  2014  it  stepped  up  coordination  with  EU  military 
staff substantially. For  example, the EU CSDP mission to improve overall security in 
Bangui  (EUFOR  CAR)  was  launched  in  February  2014,  but  ECHO  had  been  in 
systematic contact with its EEAS counterparts from the start of the planning process. 
This  was  in  line  with  the  EU’s  comprehensive  approach  to  conflicts  and  crises  and 
ensured that military actors had a clear understanding of the humanitarian issues and 
respect for the modus operandi of humanitarian aid. 

On  28  April,  ECHO  and  DEVCO  jointly  organised  the  first  EU  Resilience  Forum, 
which  was  attended  by  Commissioners  Georgieva  and  Piebalgs  and  over  160 
participants  from  a  range  of  organisations.  It  highlighted  the  strong  international 
commitment  to  resilience,  re-affirmed  the  validity  of  the  EU’s  thematic  policy 
approach and provided useful guidance on how it can be optimised. 

As  part  of  a  series  of  thematic  policy  documents,  ECHO  published  new  consolidated 
Humanitarian  Health  Guidelines  in  2014.  These  outline  the  objectives  and 
principles  of  ECHO-funded  health  intervention,  entry  and  exit  criteria  and  key 
determinants  for  intervention,  and  contain  dedicated  sections  on  coordination  and 
advocacy on humanitarian health. 

In  April,  ECHO  and  DEVCO  presented  a  joint  issues  paper  on  development  and 
internally 
protracted  displacement, 
displaced  persons  and  returnees,  such  as  camp  and  urban  displacements  and 
displacement  within  host  communities,  to  the  relevant  Council  working  groups.  The 
paper raised a number of questions that led to the launch of a consultation process. 
Its  objective  is  to  explore  possibilities  for  the  early  involvement  of  development 
actors in displacement crises, in order to: 

including  situations  affecting  refugees, 

(cid:190)  prevent protracted displacement; or 

(cid:190) 

find durable solutions in existing protracted situations. 

Informal  consultations  with  stakeholders  (Member  States,  development  actors, 
international organisations, NGOs, etc.) are ongoing. 

The  Enhanced  Response  Capacity  (ERC)  exists  to  save  lives  more  efficiently  and 
effectively, and more specifically to: 

(cid:190) 

increase the impact of investments; 

19 

 
(cid:190) 

facilitate a joint donor approach; and 

(cid:190)  provide a longer-term framework. 

The ERC funds the field-testing and roll-out of important humanitarian tools, such as 
integrated  food  security  phase  classification,  multi-cluster/sector  initial  rapid 
assessment,  the  assessment  capacities  project  for  coordinated  needs  assessment, 
rapid  response  teams  and  surge  capacity  to  allow  clusters  and  tools  to  respond 
better to major emergencies.  

Many ERC-funded projects have directly or indirectly targeted local capacity-building, 
but the sustainability of this crucial activity remains a major challenge in contexts of 
poor local governance and scarce resources. The support given to the global clusters 
system  is  a  key  achievement  of  ERC  funding.  The  'level  3'  response  to  Typhoon 
Haiyan, which deployed the full range of IASC26 Transformative Agenda instruments 
for the first time, was much more rapid, robust and comprehensive than in previous 
major disasters. 

The  western  African  Ebola  outbreak  pointed  up  weaknesses  in  the  international 
community's  response  to  major  public  health  crises  and  highlighted  the  need  for  a 
more  effective  ‘global  health  cluster’.  With  ERC  funding,  ECHO  has  recently  become 
involved  in  making  the  necessary  improvements  to  the  cluster,  applying  experience 
and lessons learned from ERC work with other global clusters. 

In 2014, the EU established a European voluntary humanitarian aid corps, the EU Aid 
Volunteers,  to  give  citizens  the  opportunity  to  be  involved  in  humanitarian  action. 
The Aid Volunteers Regulation was adopted on 3 April, followed by a first annual work 
programme  for  2014.  As  envisaged  in  the  Lisbon  Treaty,  the  programme  aims  to 
strengthen  the  Union’s  capacity  to  provide  needs-based  humanitarian  aid  and  train 
the humanitarian leaders of tomorrow, while giving young Europeans an opportunity 
to  show  solidarity  with  people  in  need.  It  is  open  to  experienced  humanitarian  aid 
experts,  but  also  to  young  people  who  envisage  a  career  in  the  field  of  emergency 
aid.  It  will  create  opportunities  for  18 000  people  to  volunteer  in  humanitarian 
operations worldwide by 2020. The focus is currently on preparing the implementing 
rules for the initiative: standards (safety, volunteer management, working conditions, 
etc.)  combined  with  a  certification  mechanism  for  future  sending  and  hosting 
organisations and a common training programme for all future Aid Volunteers. 

Following the adoption of the UCPM legislation at the end of 2013, the first half of 
2014  saw  intensive  efforts  to  implement  it.  Member  States  agreed  on  all  necessary 
implementing provisions, including the rules for the functioning of the new voluntary 
pool  of  disaster-response  assets.  A  first  start-up  configuration  for  the  pool  was 
agreed  and  will  be  implemented  in  2015,  with  over  50  civil  protection  modules  and 
teams and other response capacities, including urban search and rescue teams, camp 
and  shelter  facilities,  advanced  medical  posts,  field  hospitals,  medevac  assets  and 
numerous other capacities. 

ECHO worked on: 

−  a  framework  for  prevention  and  preparedness  advisory  missions  (a  new  tool 
the EU can use to help countries requesting civil protection assistance); and 

− 

the new prevention aspects of the UCPM legislation, including discussions with 
Member  States  on  the  new  Commission  guidelines  on  risk  management 
capability assessments and the new European peer review programme. 

26  

Inter-Agency Standing Committee 

20 

 
                                                 
The  Commission  embarked  on  more  consistent  global  outreach  to  strategic 
partners,  including  China,  Japan  and  ASEAN.  It  is  cooperating  more  closely  with 
Japan  on  the  post-2015  HFA.  Cooperation  and  policy  exchange  with  the  ASEAN 
Secretariat are ongoing and operational contacts with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre 
for  Humanitarian  Assistance  on  disaster  management  (AHA  Centre)  are  being 
strengthened.  

UCPM assistance, including assistance from the voluntary pool, can be requested by 
affected  countries  or  via  UNOCHA  or  other  international  organisations  such  as  the 
IOM27. 

In 2014, the UCPM: 

−  strengthened cooperation between its participating states; 

−  addressed gaps in national response capacities; 

−  shifted the focus towards a more prevention-related approach; 

−  provided a single contact point that coordinated EU-level efforts; and 

− 

raised  the  EU’s  profile  by  expressing  solidarity  with  countries  affected  by 
major disasters. 

ECHO  worked  intensively  with  other  Commission  departments  to  prepare  an  EU 
position and play a leading role in shaping the post-2015 HFA in the build-up to the 
Sendai  Summit.  Its  ideas  on  the  post-2015  HFA  were  set  out  in  a  Commission 
Communication  Managing  risks  to  achieve  resilience28,  on  the  basis  of  which  the 
Council adopted conclusions on 5 June. 

On  24  June,  the  Council  adopted  a  decision29  on  the  rules  and  procedures  for 
implementing  the  ‘solidarity  clause’.  Under  the  Treaty,  if  a  Member  State  is 
affected by a natural or man-made disaster or victim of a terrorist attack, the Union 
and  other  Member  States  must  act  jointly  in  a  spirit  of  solidarity  to  assist  it.  The 
implementation  rules  see  the  UCPM  as  one  of  the  key  instruments  likely  to  be 
mobilised  in  most  cases  when  the  clause  is  invoked.  As  the  central  24/7  EU-level 
contact  point  for  Member  States  and  other  stakeholders  in  all  crises  triggering  the 
clause,  the  ERCC  will  also  play  a  key  role.  In  collaboration  with  other  Union  crisis 
centres,  it  will  also  facilitate  the  production  of  ‘integrated  situational  awareness  and 
analysis’ reports to support political decision-making in the Council in the context of 
‘integrated  political  crisis  response’  (IPCR)  arrangements  triggered  automatically  by 
the solidarity clause being invoked.  

CONCLUSION 

Around  the  world,  armed  conflicts  and  attacks  on  civilians  continue  and  natural 
disasters are occurring with increasing frequency and intensity; with climate change, 
this  trend  is  set  to  continue.  The  relentless  rise  in  the  number  of  people  suffering 
calls for more efficient humanitarian action to ensure that the right aid reaches those 
most in need at the right time, but also finding ways of doing more with less. 

Throughout 2014, the EU responded effectively to the increasing need for emergency 
response  and  relief  aid  worldwide.  With  less  than  1 %  of  the  total  EU  budget, 
amounting to just over EUR 2 per EU citizen per year, EU humanitarian aid annually 

27  
28  
29  

International Organization for Migration 
COM (2014) 216 final 
Council Decision 2014/415/EU of 24 June 2014 on the arrangements for the implementation by the Union of 
the solidarity clause (OJ L 192, 1.7.2014, p. 53). 

21 

 
 
                                                 
provides immediate assistance, relief and protection to around 120 million victims of 
conflict and disaster. The EU responded to all major emergencies (including those in 
Syria, Iraq, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and eastern Ukraine, and the 
Ebola  outbreak  in  western  Africa)  and  confirmed  its  position  as  the  world’s  leading 
donor of humanitarian assistance. 

The UCPM enables a faster and more efficient response to major disasters in the EU 
and  elsewhere  based  on  the  rapid  and  effective  deployment  of  EU  relief  assistance. 
Important progress was made with the adoption of new UCPM legislation that greatly 
improved arrangements for disaster-response cooperation among Member States. 

The  Ebola  outbreak  underlined  the  importance  of  coordinating  humanitarian 
assistance and civil protection operations and the need for close cooperation between 
the Commission, other EU actors, Member States and other international responders. 
More coordinated response action and improved prevention and preparedness ensure 
that lives are saved and assistance meets the most acute needs of those affected. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SOURCES 

General information on ECHO: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en 

Individual country geographical/policy factsheets:  

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/media/publications/annual_report/2014/ECHO_AR201
4_Annex1_GEOFiches.pdf#view=fit 

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/media/publications/annual_report/2014/ECHO_AR201
4_Annex2_PolicyFiches.pdf#view=fit 

Financial information on Commission humanitarian aid and civil protection activities in 
2014:  http://ec.europa.eu/echo/funding-evaluations/funding-for-humanitarian-
aid_en 

Operational information from previous years: 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/about/annual_reports_en.htm 

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