Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER II U.K. ACTIONS UNDER THE EU AID VOLUNTEERS INITIATIVE

Article 8 U.K. Actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative

The EU Aid Volunteers initiative shall pursue the objectives referred to in Articles 4 and 7 through the following types of actions:

• development and maintenance of standards and procedures regarding candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers;

• development and maintenance of a certification mechanism for sending and hosting organisations;

• identification and selection of candidate volunteers;

• establishment of a training programme and support for training and apprenticeship placements;

• establishment, maintenance and updating of a database of EU Aid Volunteers;

• deployment of EU Aid Volunteers to support and complement humanitarian aid in third countries;

• capacity building of hosting organisations;

• establishment and management of a network for the EU Aid Volunteers initiative;

• communication and awareness raising;

• ancillary activity that furthers the accountability, transparency and effectiveness of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.

Article 9 U.K. Standards and procedures regarding candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers

1. Building on existing relevant practices, the Commission shall establish standards and procedures covering the necessary conditions, arrangements and requirements to be applied by sending and hosting organisations when identifying, selecting, preparing, managing and deploying candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers to support humanitarian aid operations in third countries.

2. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 24 to set out standards concerning:

• a competence framework used for the identification, selection and preparation of volunteers as junior or senior professionals;

• provisions to ensure equal opportunities and non-discrimination in the identification and selection process;

• provisions to ensure compliance of sending and hosting organisations with relevant national and Union law and law of the hosting country;

• standards governing the partnerships between sending and hosting organisations;

• provisions for recognition of the skills and competences acquired by EU Aid Volunteers in line with existing relevant Union initiatives.

3. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt implementing acts to set out the following:

• the procedures to be followed for the identification, selection and necessary pre-deployment preparation of candidate volunteers, including apprenticeship placements, where relevant;

• provisions for the deployment and management of EU Aid Volunteers in third countries, including, inter alia, supervision in the field, continued support through coaching, mentoring, additional training, necessary working conditions, post deployment support;

• the provision of insurance coverage and living conditions of volunteers including the coverage of subsistence, accommodation, travel and other relevant expenses;

• procedures to be followed before, during and after deployment to ensure duty of care and appropriate safety and security measures, including medical-evacuation protocols and security plans that cover emergency evacuation from third countries, including the necessary procedures for liaison with national authorities;

• procedures for monitoring and assessing the individual performance of EU Aid Volunteers.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 26(2).

Article 10 U.K. Certification mechanism for sending and hosting organisations

1. The Commission shall develop a certification mechanism by means of implementing acts, with the involvement, if appropriate, of humanitarian partners, ensuring that sending organisations comply with the standards and procedures referred to in Article 9, and a differentiated certification mechanism for hosting organisations.

The Commission shall establish the procedure relating to the functioning of the certification mechanisms, building on existing relevant certification mechanisms and procedures, by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 26(2).

2. In designing the certification mechanism, the Commission shall seek synergies with the Commission's partnership instruments in the humanitarian field and existing humanitarian standards, with the aim of administrative simplification. The certification mechanism shall be inclusive and non-discriminatory as regards any type of eligible organisation.

3. Sending organisations shall be eligible for certification, if:

(a) they adhere to the standards and procedures referred to in Article 9;

(b) they are active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in point (d) of Article 3; and

(c) they belong to any of the following categories:

(i)

non-governmental not-for-profit organisations formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and whose headquarters are located within the Union,

(ii)

public law bodies of a civilian character governed by the law of a Member State,

(iii)

non-governmental not-for-profit organisations established in the countries referred to in Article 23 under the conditions laid down in that Article and the agreements mentioned therein,

(iv)

public law bodies of civilian character established in the countries referred to in Article 23 under the conditions laid down in that Article and the agreements mentioned therein,

(v)

the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

4. Organisations in third countries shall be eligible as hosting organisations if:

(a) they adhere to the standards and procedures referred to in Article 9;

(b) they are active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in point (d) of Article 3; and

(c) they belong to any of the following categories:

(i)

non-governmental not-for-profit organisations operating or established in a third country under the laws in force in that country,

(ii)

public law bodies of a civilian character governed by the law of a third country,

(iii)

international agencies and organisations.

5. Without prejudice to the requirements referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, sending and hosting organisations may implement actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative in association with for-profit private organisations.

6. On the basis of a prior assessment of needs, sending organisations to be certified may benefit from technical assistance aimed at strengthening their capacity to participate in the EU Aid Volunteers initiative and to ensure compliance with the standards and procedures referred to in Article 9.

Hosting organisations to be certified may also benefit from the assistance referred to in the first subparagraph in the context of the actions referred to in Article 15.

7. The Commission shall publish the list of certified sending and hosting organisations in due time after certification.

Article 11 U.K. Identification and selection of candidate volunteers

1. On the basis of prior assessment of the needs in third countries by sending or hosting organisations or other relevant actors, certified sending organisations shall identify and select candidate volunteers for training.

2. The identification and selection of candidate volunteers shall comply with the standards and procedures referred to in Article 9 and respect the principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunities.

3. The following persons having a minimum age of 18 years shall be eligible to apply to be candidate volunteers:

(a) citizens of the Union;

(b) third country nationals who are long-term residents in a Member State; and

(c) citizens from countries referred to in Article 23(1) under the conditions referred to in that Article.

Article 12 U.K. Training programme and support for training and apprenticeship placements

1. Building on existing programmes and procedures and with the involvement, if appropriate, of specialised institutions, the Commission shall establish a training programme in order to prepare the candidate volunteers for deployment to support and complement humanitarian aid.

2. Candidate volunteers who have been identified and selected in accordance with Article 11 shall be eligible to participate in the training programme implemented by qualified organisations. The individual scope and content of the training each candidate volunteer needs to accomplish shall be established by the certified sending organisation concerned, in consultation with the certified hosting organisation, on the basis of needs, taking into account the prior experience of the candidate volunteer and the deployment envisaged.

3. As part of their training and particularly their preparation for deployment, candidate volunteers may be required to undertake apprenticeship placements in certified sending organisations, where possible in a country other than their country of origin.

4. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, candidate volunteers who have not benefited from an apprenticeship placement may receive, where appropriate, additional pre-deployment preparation specifically tailored to the needs and special circumstances of the deployment. This preparation and the apprenticeship placement shall comply with the standards and procedures for preparation referred to in Article 9.

5. The training programme shall include an assessment of the candidate volunteers' readiness to be deployed to support and complement humanitarian aid in third countries, and to meet the local needs. That assessment shall be performed in cooperation with the sending organisations.

6. The Commission shall adopt the arrangements for the training programme and the procedure for assessing the candidate volunteers' readiness to be deployed by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 26(2).

Article 13 U.K. Database of EU Aid Volunteers

1. Candidate volunteers who have successfully passed the assessment referred to in Article 12(5) shall be considered to be EU Aid Volunteers and shall be eligible for deployment. They shall be included as such in the database of EU Aid Volunteers.

2. The Commission shall establish, maintain and update the database of EU Aid Volunteers, including as regards the availability and eligibility of EU Aid Volunteers for deployment, and shall regulate access to and the use of it. The processing of personal data collected in or for this database shall be carried out, where relevant, in accordance with Directive 95/46/EC and Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.

Article 14 U.K. Deployment of EU Aid Volunteers in third countries

1. EU Aid Volunteers included in the database may be deployed to support and complement humanitarian aid, as defined in point (d) of Article 3:

(a) by certified sending organisations to hosting organisations in third countries; or

(b) where appropriate, by the Commission to its humanitarian aid field offices for support tasks.

2. Deployments shall meet the real needs expressed at local level by the hosting organisations.

3. For deployment as referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1, certified sending organisations shall ensure compliance with the standards and procedures referred to in Article 9. EU Aid Volunteers shall not be deployed to operations conducted in the theatre of international and non-international armed conflicts.

4. Certified sending organisations shall inform the relevant national authorities of Member States and other participating countries in accordance with Article 23, before one of their citizens is deployed as an EU Aid Volunteer in accordance with the standards and procedures referred to in Article 9.

5. The specific terms of deployment and the role of EU Aid Volunteers shall be set out, in close consultation with the hosting organisations, in a contract between the sending organisations and EU Aid Volunteers, including the rights and obligations, the duration and location of deployment and the tasks of EU Aid Volunteers.

6. For deployment as referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1, the Commission shall sign a volunteer deployment contract with EU Aid Volunteers, defining specific terms and conditions of deployment. Volunteer deployment contracts shall not confer upon the volunteer rights and obligations arising from the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68(1).

7. Each EU Aid Volunteer shall have a designated mentor from the hosting organisation to supervise and support the EU Aid Volunteer during deployment.

Article 15 U.K. Capacity building for humanitarian aid of hosting organisations

On the basis of a prior assessment of needs in third countries by sending and hosting organisations or other relevant actors, the Commission shall support actions aimed at strengthening the hosting organisations' capacity for humanitarian aid in order to enhance local preparedness and response to humanitarian crises and to ensure effective and sustainable impact of the EU Aid Volunteers' work on the ground, including:

(a)

disaster risk management, preparedness and response, coaching, training in volunteer management, and other relevant areas for staff and volunteers from hosting organisations;

(b)

exchange of best practices, technical assistance, twinning programmes and exchange of staff and volunteers, creation of networks and other relevant actions.

Article 16 U.K. Network for the EU Aid Volunteers initiative

1. The Commission shall establish and manage a network for the EU Aid Volunteers initiative composed of:

(a) candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers who are participating or have participated in the initiative;

(b) sending and hosting organisations;

(c) representatives of the Member States and of the European Parliament.

2. The network for the EU Aid Volunteers initiative shall in particular:

(a) facilitate interaction and serve as a platform for sharing knowledge, consultation and dissemination of information, for the exchange of good practice as well as for the purposes of the needs assessment referred to in Article 21(3);

(b) facilitate partnership building and the development of joint projects for deployment and capacity-building activities involving sending organisations across the Union and hosting organisations in third countries;

(c) provide a basis upon which to build on the actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative with a view to ensuring continuous improvement and effective monitoring and evaluation;

(d) provide opportunities for on-line volunteering in projects related to the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.

Article 17 U.K. Communication and awareness raising

1. The Commission shall support public information, communication and awareness raising actions, to promote a visible EU Aid Volunteers initiative and to encourage volunteering in humanitarian aid within the Union and its Member States as well as in the third countries benefitting from the actions under that initiative.

2. The Commission shall develop a communication plan on the objectives, actions and visible results of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative which shall define communication and dissemination activities towards the public, in particular towards future potential candidate volunteers and beneficiaries of the actions under that initiative. That communication plan shall be implemented by the Commission and by beneficiaries, particularly sending and hosting organisations, as well as EU Aid Volunteers.

(1)

Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of 29 February 1968 laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities and instituting special measures temporarily applicable to officials of the Commission (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1).