REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual report on the implementation of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative in 2017
Date: 2018-08-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, EU initiative, activity report, foreign aid, humanitarian aid, man-made disaster, natural disaster, non-governmental organisation, third country, voluntary organisation

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.8.2018  COM(2018) 572 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual report on the implementation of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative in 2017  
 
 
I. Introduction 

As  envisaged  by  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon1,  the  European  Union  (EU)  launched  the  EU  Aid 
Volunteers initiative in 20142. It aims to strengthen the EU’s ability to provide needs-based 
humanitarian  aid  and  to  strengthen  the  capacity  and  resilience  of  vulnerable  or  disaster-
affected communities in non-EU countries. At the same time, it allows European citizens to 
show solidarity with people in need by taking part in humanitarian actions in these countries. 

This  report  describes  the  implementation  of  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative  in  2017.  It  is 
prepared  in  line  with  Article 27  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 375/2014,  which  requires  the 
Commission to submit annual reports to the European Parliament and to the Council on the 
progress made in implementing the Regulation. Previous reports are available online3. 

The  report  is  based  on  data  that  is  collected  and  analysed  in  line  with  a  framework  for  the 
monitoring of the implementation of actions under the initiative. The framework was drawn 
up and agreed between the Commission and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Agency 
(EACEA), which is responsible for managing most of the operations under the initiative. 

II. Objectives and priorities 

The activities described within this report were based on the  2017 annual work programme 
for  implementing  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative,  adopted  by  the  Commission4  in 
accordance  with  Article  21(3)  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 375/2014  and  Article  84(2)  of  the 
Financial  Regulation5.  EUR  20  972  000  was  set  aside  in  the  budget  to  implement  the 
initiative, with the following objectives: 

 

resilience  building  and  disaster  risk  management  in  vulnerable,  fragile  or  disaster-
affected countries and forgotten crises; 

  selection, training and deployment of volunteers; 
  capacity building and technical assistance for hosting and sending organisations; 
 

insurance  for  EU  Aid  Volunteers,  apprentices,  and  participants  in  capacity  building 
activities in the European Union; 
implementation of the training programme and training of candidate volunteers; 

 
  certification of sending and hosting organisations; 

1 Article 214 (5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union: ‘In order to establish a framework for joint contributions from 
young  Europeans  to  the  humanitarian  aid  operations  of  the  Union,  a  European  Voluntary  Humanitarian  Aid  Corps  shall  be  set  up.  The 
European Parliament and the Council, acting by means of regulations in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, shall determine 
the rules and procedures for the operation of the Corps. 

2  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),  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
No 1398/2014 of 24 October 2014 laying down standards regarding candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers (OJ L 373, 31.12.2014, p. 
8).  Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  No 1244/2014  of  20  November  2014  laying  down  rules  for  the  implementation  of 
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 334, 21.11.2014, p. 52). 
3 http://ec.europa.eu/echo/who/accountability/annual-reports_en 
4  Commission  Implementing  Decision  C(2016)  8989  of  6.1.2017  concerning  the  adoption  of  the  2017  work  programme  of  the  EU  Aid 
Volunteers initiative. 

5  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 and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002. (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012). 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
  developing  and  maintaining  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  Platform  for  registration, 
networking,  online  volunteering  and  learning,  and  undertaking  outreach  and 
communication actions; 

  carrying out the interim evaluation of the implementation of the EU Aid Volunteers 

initiative. 

III. Actions implemented in 2017 

The  actions  described  in  sections  1-4  below  are  delegated  to  and  implemented  by  the 
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in cooperation with the Commission6. 

The  Education,  Audiovisual  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  is  responsible  for  the  calls  for 
proposals,  calls  for  tender,  contract  management  and  implementing  the  relevant  budget 
appropriations  in  line  with  the  annual  work  programmes  adopted  by  the  Commission.  In 
terms of managing operations, the Commission remains directly responsible for creating and 
maintaining the partners and volunteers’ network, the online platform, communications and 
the interim evaluation of the initiative carried out in 2017. 

1.  Deployment 

The  deployment  of  EU  Aid  Volunteers  to  humanitarian  projects  in  countries  affected  by 
disaster  offers  a  concrete  opportunity  for  EU  citizens  and  long-term  residents  in  the  EU  to 
show  their  solidarity  with  those  in  need.  Full-time  volunteering  deployments  in  third 
countries  are  supported by  online  volunteering offered  to  citizens,  wherever they  are  in  the 
world. 

44 EU Aid Volunteers were deployed through two projects from the 2015 call for proposals, 
and 162 EU Aid Volunteers were deployed through four projects from the 2016 call. This led 
to  a  total  of  206  EU  Aid  Volunteers  being  deployed  to  28  countries  by  the  end  of 
2017/beginning of 2018. EU Aid Volunteers were deployed worldwide, excluding countries 
with ongoing armed conflicts. The numbers of volunteers, although increasing, remain well 
below the initial targets of 4 000 EU Aid Volunteers by 2020. Among the reasons for this are 
the  barriers  to  participation,  such  as  the  certification  of  organisations  or  the  need  to  form 
partnerships with other organisations to apply for EU funding. The interim evaluation of the 
EU Aid Volunteers initiative provides detailed findings in this regard.  

The  backgrounds  of  EU  Aid  Volunteers  are  diverse  and  skilled,  reflecting  a  needs-based 
approach to defining volunteer deployments and selecting potential EU Aid Volunteers. The 
skills areas requested most often included disaster risk management, communication, finance 
and  accounting,  project  management  and  climate  change  adaptation,  gender  equality  and 
community-based development. 

6  The  division  of  tasks  between  the  Commission  and  EACEA  is  based  on  Commission  Decision  C  (2013)9189  of  18.12.2013  delegating 
powers  to  the  Education,  Audiovisual  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  with  view  to  performance  of  tasks  linked  to  the  implementation  of 
Union programmes in the field of education, audiovisual and culture comprising, in particular, implementation of appropriations entered in 
the general budget of the Union and of the EDF allocations. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Volunteering examples 

The deployment project ‘EU Aid Volunteers in action‘ is run by two European non-governmental organisations 
(NGOs)  Gruppo  di  Volontariato  Civile  (Italy)  and  Alianza  por  la  Solidaridad  (Spain)  and  13  third-countries 
organisations with the support of one associate from the University of Bologna. The project aims at involving 
European citizens in humanitarian aid operations through the deployment of 38 EU Aid volunteers.  

In Haiti  the  project  has  supported  partner  organisations  to  build  partnerships  and  strengthen  the  capacity  in 
delivering humanitarian aid since the 2010 earthquake hit the western part of the island: ‘We support small local 
producers  and  farmers’  organisations  and  their  participation  in  the  decision  making  process  in  the 
Municipalities. Our aim is to contribute to a long-term and sustainable local development, in close coordination 
with authorities, promoters, beneficiaries and local organisations’. ..(An EU Aid Volunteer in Haiti) 

In Lebanon the project ’s activities complement ongoing operations in humanitarian aid and respond to needs 
identified locally by partner organisations: ‘I moved to Zahle, Lebanon in October 2017.[…] Given the lack of 
previous expertise in data analysis, my contribution has a distinctive impact on [my organisations’] activities 
and I  feel  encouraged  to  suggest appropriate  research  solutions and  tools.  Quantitative  analysis informs  and 
supports protection activities’..(An EU Aid Volunteer in Lebanon) 

The deployment project ‘EU Aid Volunteers ACTing against disaster risks (EUAVACT) ’ is implemented by a 
consortium  of  ACT  Alliance  organisations  and  involve  38  volunteers’  placements.  The  project  aims  at 
contributing  to  more  effective  (EU  provided)  humanitarian  response,  Disaster  Risk  Reduction  (DRR)  and 
resilience  in  five  countries  (Ethiopia,  Uganda,  Nepal,  Bangladesh  and Cambodia)  through  strengthening  local 
NGOs and vulnerable and disaster prone communities members ‘ aims to support more effective (EU-provided) 
humanitarian responses, disaster risk reduction and resilience.‘Being based in [the organisation’s] Phnom Penh 
office, field trips such as this provide a great opportunity to see the activities being implemented. In the case of 
the team’s trip to the communities in the Kampong Speu Province, this meant for example increased standards 
of  living  and  improved  diet  of  the  most  vulnerable  —  with  a  new  water  reservoir  and  canal  built  within  the 
climate change adaptation plan, resilience is improved and the community’s daily diet could be enriched by a 
consistent supply of vegetables such as tomatoes, water melons, cucumbers and eggplants’.(A story from an EU 
Aid Volunteer in Cambodia) 

Stories from the field:  
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/echo/eu-aid-volunteers_en/stories_en  

Deployment projects: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/echo/eu-aid-volunteers_en/projects_en  

2017  marked  the  third  year  of  the  implementation  of  the  initiative.  The  2017  call  for 
proposals7 was published on 3 March 2017 with a total budget of EUR 12 600 000 for the co-
financing  of  projects.  The  call  aimed  to  co-finance  projects  for  the  deployment  of  EU  Aid 
Volunteers,  including  apprenticeship  placements  for  junior  professionals  and  additional 
capacity building activities carried out by volunteers.  

Six  projects  were  selected8  for  co-funding  with  a  total  EU  grant  of  EUR  5  726  880.  These 
will result in the deployment of 175 EU Aid Volunteers starting in 2018. 

The first eight online volunteering opportunities were published and completed in 2017. 

7 EACEA/08/2017, Official Journal No 2017/C 67/09 of 3.3.2017. 

8  https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/sites/eacea-site/files/list_of_successful_applications.pdf   

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
2.  Technical assistance and capacity building 

Capacity  building  and  technical  assistance  projects9  that  are  supported  through  funding 
provided  by  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative,  strengthen  the  abilities  of  the  organisations 
intending  to  deploy  EU  Aid  Volunteers  and  ensure  that  organisations  comply  with  the 
standards and procedures drawn up by the initiative. 

In  2017,  a  call  for  proposals  was  published10  providing  for  the  co-financing  of  projects  for 
capacity  building  for  hosting  organisations  and  technical  assistance  for  EU-based  sending 
organisations,  in  areas  such  as  disaster  risk  management,  volunteer  management  and  needs 
assessment  methodology.  As  indicated  in  the  annual  work  programme11,  the  2017  budget 
allocated was EUR 7 607 000. 

18 applications (4 for technical assistance and 14 for capacity building) were selected for co-
funding12 with a total EU grant of EUR 9 909 346. 

Overall,  the  calls  in  2014-2017  resulted  in  the  funding  of  22  capacity  building  projects, 
involving 242 organisations from 18 EU countries and 55 non-EU countries. Eleven technical 
assistance projects, with a total of 66 beneficiaries from 25 EU countries, were funded. These 
strengthened  the  management  and  operational  systems  of  participating  organisations  and 
helped them to work in partnership to implement best practices in humanitarian aid delivery 
and volunteer management. 

Project examples 

Capacity building 

The "EU Aid Volunteers — Getting Involved" project, led by Gruppo Di Volontariato Civile (Italy), brought 
together  EU  and  non-EU partners  with  the  goal  of  strengthening  the  capacities  of  organisations  to respond  to 
disasters, develop local volunteering, and reach the  volunteer management standards required to participate in 
the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative.  The  project  was  implemented  through  a  combination  of  activities  including 
training  of  trainers,  exchange  visits,  regional  workshops  and  toolkits  tailored  according  to  needs  identified  at 
local level. 

The ACT for Humanitarian Capacity Development in EU Aid Volunteers initiative project, led by Stichting 
Interkerkelijke  Organisatie  Voor  Ontwikkelingssamenwerking,  (The  Netherlands),  brought  together  a  large 
consortium  of  organisations  from  countries  including  Ethiopia,  Nepal,  Uganda  and  Bangladesh.  Through  a 
combination  of  e-learning,  organisational  capacity  assessments  and  emergency  preparedness  &  resilience 
building plans and training, among other activities, project partners worked towards achieving the certification 
requirements  of  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative,  and  building  the  humanitarian  capacities  and  increased 
leadership capacities of local and national NGOs in disaster-prone countries. 

The Volunteering in Humanitarian Aid — Host Organisations project, led by Association France Volontaires 
(France), carried out activities to improve community resilience by building the capacity of local volunteers, and 
worked  towards  the  certification  of  hosting  organisations  by  strengthening  their  volunteer  management  and 
developing a culture of ‘humanitarian volunteering’. In addition to the objective of project partners becoming 
certified as sending or hosting organisations under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative, the project has also boosted 

9 Article 10 (6) and Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 375/2014. 

10 EACEA 09/2017, Official Journal No 2017/C 67/09 of 3.3.2017. 

11 C(2016) 8989 final of 6.1.2017. 

12

  https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/eu-aid-volunteers/selection-results/technical-assistance-and-capacity-building-eacea092017_en.  This  exceeded 
the  amount  initially  allocated  for  this  activity  strand  (EUR  7 607 000)  and  funding  was  re-allocated  from  the  underspend  on  the 
deployment strand. Initial figures from the application stage were adapted later on. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
their ability to work in partnerships within the structure of the EU Aid Volunteers project consortium, and to 
benefit from access to networks in other organisations. 

Technical Assistance 

The  Technical  Assistance  for  Humanitarian  Aid  Organisation  from  Central  Eastern  Europe  to  Enable 
Efficient  Deployment  of  Volunteers  project,  led  by  Polska  Akcja  Humanitarna  Fundacja  (Poland),  brought 
together organisations from Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Slovakia. The project’s main objective was 
to assist the consortium in the certification process of becoming sending organisations within the framework of 
the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative.  It  carried  out  focused  training  that resulted  in  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
people trained in human resources, volunteer management, knowledge management, and project management. It 
also  aimed  to  make  improvements  to  knowledge  management  within  each  organisation,  to  help  prevent  the 
knowledge  drain  which  occurs  due  to  staff  rotation,  and  to  facilitate  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  and 
experience among employees and volunteers. 

Strengthening  Human  Resource  Capacity  for  Volunteer  Management  and  Humanitarian  Response,  led  by 
Concern  Worldwide  (Ireland),  aimed  to  strengthen  the  human  resources  systems  of  sending  organisations  to 
improve  the  capacity  of  participating  organisations  in  volunteer  management  to  reach  EU  Aid  Volunteers 
certification  standards,  and  to  share  learning  and  experience  from  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative.  The 
consortium  partners have  become  certified  sending  organisations  and  are  currently  participating  in projects to 
deploy EU Aid Volunteers. 

Figure 1: Technical assistance and capacity building EU Aid Volunteers projects 2015 – 2017 

Organisations involved in: 

     Only technical assistance 
     Only capacity building 
    Technical assistance and capacity building 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.  Certification 

Organisations that wish to send or host EU Aid Volunteers must be certified as sending (non-
governmental organisations or public bodies based in the EU) or hosting organisations (non-
governmental  organisations  and  public  bodies  based  in  non-EU  countries,  or  international 
organisations)  under  the  certification  mechanism  in  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative.    This 
checks  that  participating  organisations  are  fully  able  to  apply  the  volunteer  management 
standards  drawn  up  by  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative  to  manage  volunteers  before  and 
during their deployment. 

An  open  call  was  published  in  2015,  allowing  for  ongoing  applications  until  30  September 
202013.  In  2017,  63  new  organisations  were  certified  which  brings  the  total  number  of 
certified  organisation  under  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative  to  145  (36  sending  and  109 
hosting). 

4.  Training programme 

The  training  programme  for  EU  Aid  Volunteers  is  delivered  by  a  consortium  led  by  the 
company  ICF.  In  2017,  training  was  delivered  for  178  candidate  EU  Aid  Volunteers  in 
training centres in Austria and the Netherlands. As in previous training rounds, a number of 
reserve candidates attended the training to ensure that substitute volunteers may be chosen to 
replace candidates if they resign or are no longer available. Final selection then takes place 
following the training. 

The EU Aid Volunteers training programme is based on a competence framework laid down 
in Delegated Regulation 1398/2014 and is delivered through a combined learning approach, 
with online preparatory learning and face-to-face classroom training, comprised of mandatory 
and optional training modules, and a scenario–based exercise14. 

While  the  course  had  previously  only  been  delivered  in  English,  in  2017  for  the  first  time, 
one  group  of  volunteers  was  instructed  in  Spanish.  Candidate  EU  Aid  Volunteers’ 
satisfaction with the training remains high, with an average score of 9 out of 10 points. 

5.  Support measures 

Communication  work  around  the  initiative  in  2017  included  the  production  of  a  series  of 
videos aimed at potential EU Aid Volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers organisations, and the 
provision  of  information  on  the  initiative  to  the  general  public.  A  communication  package 
that highlighted the work of EU Aid Volunteers on the ground and their solidarity with those 
in  need  was  used  by  the  Commission,  partner  organisations  and  other  external  media  and 
non-governmental organisation outlets for the International Volunteer Day. 

13 https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/sites/eacea-site/files/certification-call-announcement-012115.pdf 

14 Annex II of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1244/2014. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
The  EU  Aid  Volunteers  platform  provides  details  of  vacancies  for  full-time  deployment 
volunteering and online volunteering. It also provides tools for managing EU Aid Volunteers, 
a  database  of  successfully  trained  volunteers,  tools  to  manage  online  volunteering 
assignments, collaborative spaces for volunteers and projects, a public forum where updates 
about the initiative are posted, the possibility of posting stories from the field, and reporting 
and  survey  tools.  The  platform  is  consulted  by  visitors  worldwide  and  the  subscriptions 
service for volunteering vacancies had around 1 500 subscribers at the end of 2017. 

A network workshop was held in February 2017 for organisations that are involved in the 
EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative  through  deployment  projects,  certification  under  the  EU  Aid 
Volunteers initiative or in technical assistance or capacity building projects. The key aim of 
the workshop was to gather lessons learnt, experience, advice and opinions from participating 
humanitarian aid and volunteer organisations to shape the future of the EU Aid Volunteers’ 
programme.  93  participants  from  45  EU  and  non-EU  countries  attended  the  workshop. 
Participating organisations were also invited to nominate other organisations with whom they 
were  interested  in  working  in  partnership  to  attend,  in  order  to  raise  awareness  of  the 
initiative.  The  network  workshop  was  supplemented  with  outreach  events  in  EU  countries 
during the year. 

An info day was organised by Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency on 5 
April 2017 to explain the 2017 funding opportunities available under the EU Aid Volunteers 
initiative. The event gathered 83 participants and was also followed via web-streaming. 

As  set  out  in  Article 27(4)(b)  of  the  Regulation,  the  Commission  is  required  to  submit  an 
interim  evaluation  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  on  the  results 
obtained  and  the  qualitative  and  quantitative  aspects  of  the  implementation  of  Regulation 
No 375/2014  on  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative.  A  report  compiled  by  an  external 
contractor was finalised in 201715 and provided an assessment of the results obtained and the 
qualitative  and  quantitative  aspects  of  the  implementation  of  the  Regulation.  It  included 
assessments of the initiative’s impact on the humanitarian sector and the cost-effectiveness of 
the programme during the first three years of implementation, following its establishment in 
2014.  The overall conclusion is that the initiative provides added value and its objectives are 
relevant  to  stakeholders.  Among  the  challenges  that  need  to  be  addressed  are  the 
simplification of processes and administrative procedures, reducing the time for deployment, 
further synergies with existing Commission programmes and projects and shift of focus from 
funding  processes  (supporting  volunteer  management  or  organisational  capability  and 
capacity) to humanitarian impact-oriented activities. The report from the Commission to the 
European Parliament and the Council on interim evaluation of the  implementation of the EU 
Aid Volunteers initiative provides more details on the results and potential areas for further 
development of the initiative. 

IV. Conclusions and way forward 

Progress  on  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative  in  2017  was  marked  by  the  ongoing 
implementation of the deployment and capacity building/technical assistance projects funded 
in previous years. Six new projects for deployment of volunteers, four for technical assistance 
and  fourteen  capacity  building  projects  were  selected  in  2017.  The  number  of  EU  Aid 
Volunteers  deployed  to  third  countries  is  further  increasing:  the  2017  call  resulted  in  175 

15 http://ec.europa.eu/echo/funding-evaluations/evaluations/thematic-evaluations_en 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
deployment placements while the numbers in the previous years were 44 from the 2015 call 
and  162  from  the  2016  call..  The  training  programme  has  again  achieved  high  satisfaction 
rates among volunteers and more training sessions are planned for 2018 than were carried out 
in 2017. In addition to training in Spanish, training in French is also planned. 

The ongoing certification process in 2017 resulted in 63 certified organisations  (in addition 
to 20 in 2015 and 62 in 2016). By the end of 2017, there was a total of 145 certified sending 
and  hosting  organisations.  This  means  the  initiative  has  now  made  promising  progress 
towards  reaching  a  critical  mass  of  certified  organisations  to  deploy  a  larger  number  of 
volunteers. Further simplification of the certification process was carried out in 2017, and the 
simplified forms were made accessible online in 2018. 

The  EU  Aid  Volunteers  platform  has  been  further  developed  and  hosted  its  first  online 
volunteering  vacancies.  The  platform  is  now  also  able  to  offer  online  volunteering 
opportunities  that  support  capacity  building  and  technical  assistance  projects’  activities,  for 
example through research. It is therefore expected that online assignments will increase in the 
coming months. In 2018, the EU Aid Volunteers platform will increasingly be used to publish 
stories from volunteers and will be further adapted to respond to the needs of organisations in 
relation to managing volunteers. 

In 2018, in line with the objectives and priorities of the initiative as set by the annual work 
programme16, the activities described above will continue to provide opportunities for more 
hosting and sending organisations to benefit from capacity building and technical assistance 
activities and more EU Aid Volunteers will be deployed in countries outside the EU. 

Communication  activities  will  continue  to  promote  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative  and 
further  evidence  will  be  gathered  about  the  impact  of  the  EU  Aid  Volunteers  initiative  on 
participating organisations and volunteers. Work will continue on strengthening the EU Aid 
Volunteers  network,  including  a  network  workshop  for  organisations  that  participate  in  the 
initiative  and  a  workshop  to  allow  EU  Aid  Volunteers  to  share  their  experiences  of  their 
deployment  in  the  field  and  build  closer  links  with  the  humanitarian  sector.  Lessons  from 
both these events will support the further development of the initiative. 

These actions are envisaged within the current implementation period until the end of 2020. 
The  aim  is  to  speed  up  processes,  simplify  administrative  procedures,  improve  support  for 
interested organisations, further promote the funding opportunities and share success stories. 

In the context of preparing the way forward in the next Multiannual Financial Framework for 
2021 – 2027, the Commission proposed to integrate the EU Aid Volunteers initiative into the 
European  Solidarity  Corps  to  maximise  synergies  and  impact  and  achieve  greater 
simplification. 

information  on 

More 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/what/humanitarian-aid/eu-aid-volunteers_en 

the  EU  Aid  Volunteers 

initiative  can  be 

16 Commission Implementing Decision C(2018)165 of 22.1.2018 concerning the adoption of the 2018 work programme. 

found  at: 

8