1.Actions under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative receiving financial assistance shall be monitored regularly in order to follow their implementation, and regularly evaluated through independent external evaluation to assess the efficiency, effectiveness and their impacts against the objectives of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative. The monitoring and evaluation shall include the reports referred to in paragraph 4 and other activities on specific aspects of this Regulation which may be launched at any time during its implementation.
2.Sending organisations deploying EU Aid Volunteers outside the Union shall be responsible for the monitoring of their activities and shall submit to the Commission monitoring reports on a regular basis safeguarding all rights of individual volunteers regarding personal data protection.
3.Evaluations shall make use of existing evaluation standards, including those developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Development Assistance Committee, with the objective of measuring the long-term impact of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative on humanitarian aid. In the evaluation phase, the Commission shall ensure regular consultation of all relevant stakeholders, including volunteers, sending and hosting organisations, assisted local population and communities, humanitarian organisations and workers in the field. The results of the evaluation shall feed back into the programme design and resource allocation.
4.The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council:
(a)annual reports examining the progress made in implementing this Regulation, including results and, as far as possible, the main outcomes;
(b)an interim evaluation report on the results obtained and the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the implementation of this Regulation, including on the impact of EU Aid Volunteers initiative in the humanitarian sector and the cost-effectiveness of the programme, during the first three years of its implementation no later than 31 December 2017;
(c)a Communication on the continued implementation of this Regulation based on the interim evaluation report referred to in point (b) of this paragraph no later than 31 December 2018;
(d)an ex post evaluation report for the seven-year financial period of implementation no later than 31 December 2021.
5.The Commission shall review the measures laid down in this Regulation by 1 September 2019 and shall, where appropriate following the conclusion of the interim evaluation report referred to in point (b) of paragraph 4 of this Article, accompany that review with a legislative proposal for amendment of this Regulation.
6.The Commission shall also regularly inform the EEAS about the activities of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative in accordance with relevant working arrangements.