The 27 encourage the creation of a European voluntary humanitarian aid corps

(BRUSSELS2) The 27 gave their support today (17 May) to the creation of a European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps" (EVHAC). A new acronym to remember for the future created by the Treaty of Lisbon. -this provided, in fact, "to establish a framework for joint contributions by young Europeans to the Union's humanitarian aid actions" (Article 214 TFEU). This body can bring a useful contribution to European and international humanitarian aid remark the Ministers, under certain conditions - relating both to the profile of the volunteers, to the activities they could carry out, to the organization and financing of this body.

Several conditions are set

• establish clear requirements for the selection, recruitment, training and deployment of volunteers;
• present a satisfactory cost/effectiveness ratio;
• build on existing volunteer programs at national and international level and avoid duplicating them;
• focus primarily on responding to concrete needs and filling gaps in the humanitarian field;
• focus its activities essentially on supporting existing local organizations in the humanitarian and civil protection field, in cooperation with the authorities of the beneficiary countries.
• not to create a fully-fledged operational organization in the humanitarian or civil protection field.
• funds allocated to EVHAC should not be drawn from existing Commission budgets for humanitarian aid and civil protection

These conditions repeat, more or less, the various conditions proposed by the Commission in its communication of November 2010. With this political endorsement, the work can continue; the Commission's objective being to present a legislative proposal in 2012.

Download the text of the conclusions adopted by the EU Council of Ministers