This Regulation establishes a European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (‘the EU Aid Volunteers initiative’) as a framework for joint contributions from European volunteers to support and complement humanitarian aid in third countries.
This Regulation lays down the rules and procedures for the operation of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative and rules for the provision of financial assistance.
This Regulation applies to:
selection, training and deployment of EU Aid Volunteers to support and complement humanitarian aid in third countries;
actions that support, promote and prepare the deployment of EU Aid Volunteers to support and complement humanitarian aid in third countries;
actions inside and outside the Union aimed at building the hosting organisations' capacity for humanitarian aid in third countries.
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
‘volunteer’ means a person who chooses freely and without pecuniary motivation to engage in activities that benefit a community and society at large;
‘candidate volunteer’ means a person eligible in accordance with Article 11(3) to apply for participation in the actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative;
‘EU Aid Volunteer’ means a candidate volunteer who has been selected, trained in accordance with the specific standards, procedures and reference criteria, assessed as eligible and registered as available for deployment to support and complement humanitarian aid in third countries;
‘humanitarian aid’ means activities and operations in third countries intended to provide needs-based emergency assistance aimed at preserving life, preventing and alleviating human suffering, and maintaining human dignity in the face of man-made crises or natural disasters. It encompasses assistance, relief and protection operations in humanitarian crises or their immediate aftermath, supporting measures to ensure access to people in need and to facilitate the free flow of assistance, as well as actions aimed at reinforcing disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction, and contributing towards strengthening resilience and capacity to cope with, and recover from, crises;
‘third country’ means a country outside the Union where humanitarian aid activities and operations referred to in point (d) take place.
The objective of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative shall be to contribute to strengthening the Union's capacity to provide needs-based humanitarian aid aimed at preserving life, preventing and alleviating human suffering and maintaining human dignity and to strengthening the capacity and resilience of vulnerable or disaster-affected communities in third countries, particularly by means of disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction and by enhancing the link between relief, rehabilitation and development. That objective shall be attained through the added value of joint contributions of EU Aid Volunteers, expressing the Union's values and solidarity with people in need and visibly promoting a sense of European citizenship.
1.The actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative shall be conducted in compliance with the humanitarian aid principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence and with the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid.
2.The actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative shall respond to the humanitarian needs of local communities and the requirements of the hosting organisations and shall aim to contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of the humanitarian sector.
3.The safety and security of candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers shall be a priority.
4.The EU Aid Volunteers initiative shall promote needs-based joint projects and transnational partnerships between participating volunteers from different countries and organisations implementing the actions under that initiative as referred to in Article 10.
1.In implementing this Regulation, coherence and complementarity shall be ensured with other instruments and areas of Union external action and with other relevant Union policies, in particular humanitarian aid policy, development cooperation policy and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, while avoiding duplication and overlap, and recognising that humanitarian aid is governed by the humanitarian aid principles referred to in Article 5(1) of this Regulation. Particular attention shall be paid to ensure smooth transition between relief, rehabilitation and development.
2.The Commission and the Member States shall cooperate to achieve efficiency and effectiveness, by ensuring consistency and coherence between relevant national volunteering schemes and the actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative. Those actions shall build on relevant good practices and existing programmes and, where appropriate, make use of established European networks.
3.The Union shall foster cooperation with relevant international organisations, and other humanitarian partners and local and regional actors, in implementing the actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.
In promoting a coherent international response to humanitarian crises, the actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative shall be in accordance with those undertaken by the United Nations, in order to support the central and overall coordinating role of UN-OCHA.
1.The EU Aid Volunteers initiative shall pursue the following operational objectives:
(a)Contribute to increasing and improving the capacity of the Union to provide humanitarian aid.
Progress towards the achievement of this operational objective shall be assessed on the basis of indicators, such as:
(a)the number of EU Aid Volunteers deployed or ready for deployment with the required qualifications and the number of EU Aid Volunteers who have completed their contracts of deployment;
the number of people reached by humanitarian aid provided through the EU Aid Volunteers initiative and the average cost per person reached;
the degree of satisfaction of EU Aid Volunteers deployed and of the sending and hosting organisations with regard to the effective humanitarian contribution of EU Aid Volunteers on the ground.
(b)Improve the skills, knowledge and competences of volunteers in the field of humanitarian aid and the terms and conditions of their engagement.
Progress towards the achievement of this operational objective shall be assessed on the basis of indicators, such as:
(b)the number of candidate volunteers trained and volunteers who have successfully passed the assessment after the training;
the number of certified sending organisations applying the standards and procedures for management of candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers;
the degree of satisfaction of the volunteers trained and deployed, of the sending and hosting organisations with regard to the quality of the training, level of knowledge and competences of volunteers, the fulfilment and adequacy of the standards and procedures for management of candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers.
(c)Build the capacity of hosting organisations and foster volunteering in third countries.
Progress towards the achievement of this operational objective shall be assessed on the basis of indicators, such as:
(c)the number and type of capacity building actions in third countries;
the number of third country staff and volunteers participating in the capacity building actions.;
the degree of satisfaction of staff of the hosting organisations and volunteers from third countries participating in capacity building actions with regard to the quality and effectiveness of the actions carried out.
(d)Communicate the Union's humanitarian aid principles agreed in the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid.
Progress towards the achievement of this operational objective shall be assessed on the basis of indicators, such as:
(d)the number, type and costs of information, communication and awareness-raising actions.
(e)Enhance coherence and consistency of volunteering across Member States in order to improve opportunities for Union citizens to participate in humanitarian aid activities and operations.
Progress towards the achievement of this operational objective shall be assessed on the basis of indicators, such as:
(e)the number of certified sending organisations;
the number and type of technical assistance actions for sending organisations;
dissemination and replication of the standards and procedures for management of candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers by other volunteering schemes.
2.The indicators referred to in points (a) to (e) of paragraph 1 shall be used for the monitoring, evaluation and review of performance as appropriate. They are indicative and may be amended by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 24 in order to take into account experience from the progress measurement.