How the EU budget is spent: EU Civil Protection Mechanism

Briefing 21-05-2015

The European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism supports and coordinates the deployment of participating countries' in-kind assistance (teams, experts and equipment) to countries requesting international assistance in the event of a major natural or man-made disaster. It comprises a European Emergency Response Capacity (EERC), made up of pre-prepared 'modules' pooling civil defence capacity made available on a voluntary basis by its members, and an Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), monitoring disasters and organising the deployment of modules. The EERC responds to requests from both inside the EU and beyond its borders, where assistance can go together with humanitarian aid.