The European Union is the world’s largest provider of financing for humanitarian aid
operations. Altogether, the European Commission in Brussels and the governments of the 27
Member States pay for more than 50% of the assistance that comes from official channels. The
European Commission itself is responsible for managing almost half of this aid. In 2006, the
Commission provided €671 million for humanitarian projects in more than 60 countries,
funding relief to millions of victims of disasters outside the European Union.

Within the Commission, operations are masterminded by the Humanitarian Aid department
(ECHO) which comes under the responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel. Operations
include assessment of humanitarian needs in disaster areas, appropriate allocation of funds for
goods and services such as food, shelter, medical provisions, water supplies or sanitation and
evaluation of the impact of the aid provided. Disaster preparedness projects in regions prone to
natural catastrophes are also among the life saving activities financed through ECHO’s
specialized programme DIPECHO. By preparing the communities at risk to respond by
themselves, DIPECHO aims at reducing the impact of natural disasters on the most vulnerable
populations through simple and inexpensive yet effective preparatory measures developed and
implemented by the communities themselves.