European Commission Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection

The European Union is the world’s largest donor of humanitarian aid.

For the European Commission, relief operations are coordinated by the department for humanitarian aid and civil protection ECHO. Since 1992, the European Commission has funded relief operations in well over 100 countries outside the European Union.

Aid is channelled impartially to the affected populations, regardless of their race, ethnic group, religion, gender, age, nationality or political affiliation, through our operational partners. The partners include over 200 Non-Government Organisations, United Nations agencies and the Red Cross family.

In order to respond better to disasters inside and outside the EU, ECHO is also in charge of coordinating EU civil protection.