The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) serves as the operational centre of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), which was established by Regulation 836/2021, amending Decision 1313/2013.
The UCPM represents enhanced cooperation between all 27 European Union (EU) Member States and 10 additional participating states, with a focus on prevention, preparedness, and response.
The ERCC coordinates the delivery of assistance of the EU Member States and the 10 UCPM participating states to disaster-stricken countries, such as relief items, expertise, civil protection teams and specialised equipment. The centre is an integral part of the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), and it operates continuously 24/7 from its headquarters in Brussels.
When an emergency hits, the UCPM can be activated following a request for assistance. The request can be made by a national authority, a United Nation (UN) body or a recognised international organisation, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) or the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Following a request for assistance, the ERCC acts as a coordination hub between the civil protection authorities of the EU Member States, the 10 additional participating states to the UCPM, the affected country, and the humanitarian aid community to mobilise assistance and ensure the rapid deployment of emergency support. The centre also ensures cooperation and coherence of EU action at an inter-institutional level, focusing on coordination mechanisms with the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Council and EU Member States. The 24/7 communication and information exchange between the ERCC, the EU Member States and UCPM participating states is based on the Common Emergency Communication and Information System (CECIS), which is a web-based notification application.
The ERCC also serves as the central point of contact when the Solidarity Clause is invoked and/or when the Integrated Political Response Coordination (IPCR) arrangement is triggered by the EU Presidency (on its own initiative or following a request by an EU member state).
History One of the foundational pillars for the creation of a solidarity mechanism was set in place in 1987, following the Council resolution for the introduction of a Community Cooperation on Civil Protection. This Council resolution led to several others, particularly one in 1991 aimed at improving mutual aid between Member States in the event of natural or technological disasters. Subsequently, in 1997, the Community Action Programme was established in the field of civil protection and began operations in 1999. Eventually, in October 2001, the European Commission established the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) to bolster cooperation between the EU countries and participating states, and to pool their emergency response capacities during disasters. At this point, the predecessor of the ERCC, the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) was established to monitor, inform and facilitate the coordination of the delivery of assistance in the event of disasters within or outside the EU. In 2007, following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the UCPM was reviewed, and a dedicated Civil Protection Financial Instrument was set up to facilitate a rapid response to major disasters allowing co-funding the transport of assistance channelled via the UCPM.
2007 was also the year when the Treaty of Lisbon, was signed by all EU member states and subsequently came into force on 1 December 2009, which brought two important innovations. First, the treaty included the introduction of Art. 196 in Title XXII on Civil Protection encouraging the cooperation amongst EU Member States in the field of civil protection, complementing the national systems. Second, it introduced the Solidarity Clause, which created In 2023 with Decision 1313/2023 the UCPM was strengthened and the ERCC, replacing the MIC, was formally established. On 15 May 2013, the ERCC was inaugurated by the commission's president, Jose Manuel Barroso and European Commissioner, for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, and started its 24/7 operations. Decision 1313/2013 also set up a European Emergency Response Capacity (EERC), which consisted of a voluntary pool of pre-committed response capacities from the UCPM participating states, trained experts, and a Common Emergency Communication and Information System (CECIS) that is managed by the ERCC and a contact point for each UCPM participating state.
In early November of the same year 2013, the ERCC was confronted with the first major emergency: typhoon Haiyan. Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded, causing massive devastation in the Philippines, including thousands of deaths. Several EU countries stepped in to provide emergency assistance through the UCPM. This was the first major emergency where the ERCC played its role as a coordinator.
On the 24th of June 2014 the General Affairs Council of the EU adopted a decision on the implementation of the `Solidarity Clause’ (Art. 222 TFEU), where the ERCC was explicitly made to be the central contact point at Union level with Member States’ competent authorities and other stakeholders upon invocation of the Solidarity Clause.
In 2014, during the Ebola crisis in West Africa, the ERCC got involved in responding to a major health crisis. The ERCC coordinated the deployment of emergency supplies and experts and managed evacuation requests in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO). The crisis constituted the largest civil-military cooperation under the UCPM.
In 2019, the EU upgraded the UCPM and established rescEU, as a reserve of European capacities, to further protect citizens from disasters and manage emerging risks, acting as a safety net when other capacities cannot be mobilised. The same year the voluntary pool, the EERC, changed its name to European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP).
From 2020 onwards, the ERCC has become de facto a single crisis coordination hub delivering support for long-term crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip following the Gaza war.
Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) The ERCC lies at the heart of the UCPM, where it efficiently coordinates support for crises worldwide once the Mechanism has been activated by a request for assistance from an affected country. The aim of the UCPM is to improve prevention, preparedness, and response to disasters.
The response function of the UCPM operates in the following way: when a disaster occurs, irrespective of whether it is of natural origin or caused by human activities, a request for assistance can be initiated by activating the UCPM. This call for help can be made by any country across the globe, as well as by the UN, its various agencies, or any significant international organisation (e.g., the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement) that may require support in response to the emergency. Once the UCPM is initiated, the request will be posted on CECIS. This allows Member and participating states to respond and provide all or part of the requested aid. The ERCC will then swiftly deploy the assistance or expertise, additionally covering at least 75% of the transport and/or operational costs for the deployment.
As of 2024, 37 countries are members of the Mechanism; all 27 EU Member States, in addition to the 10 additional participating states, Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Turkey, Albania, Moldova, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Mechanism was set up to enable coordinated assistance from the participating states to victims of natural and man-made disasters in Europe and elsewhere.
Notable examples of UCPM responses Since its inception in 2001, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has responded to over 700 requests for assistance inside and outside the EU. Some notable examples are included below.
2013 Typhoon Haiyan (Philippines): As a response to one of the decade's deadliest tropical cyclones, 26 participating states of the UCPM offered in-kind assistance, including 25 civil protection experts, medical services in the form of medical teams, posts and field hospitals that provided treatment for thousands of patients, shelter and sanitation items and in total 40 million euros of humanitarian and early recovery funding.
2015 Nepal earthquake: In total 17 participating states of the UCPM helped in the form of advanced medical posts and medical teams, search and rescue teams, water purification, Technical Assistance and Support Teams (TAST) and in-kind assistance including shelter, beds, blankets, clothes, medical equipment and medicines. The European Union Civil Protection Team (EUCPT), composed of 10 experts and three Liaison officers, was deployed to Nepal for a total period of 20 days.
2019 Hurricane Ida (Mozambique): the UCPM was activated on 20 March following a request for assistance. Nine EU MS teams responded through the UCPM of which five provided in-kind assistance including shelter and non-food items. To support the response also two EU Civil Protection teams were deployed to Mozambique together with four ERCC liaison officers and one European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control epidemiologist. In total more than 300 staff, including 180 doctors/nurses, were deployed. In addition to physical aid, analytical services in the form of 41 maps were also produced to assist the Mozambican authorities with the immediate response. 2020 Beirut explosions (Lebanon): After the devastating explosions in Beirut, the UCPM activation enabled the ERCC to coordinate the delivery of crisis response from 20 European countries. In the immediate aftermath, specialised search and rescue teams, chemical assessment experts, and medical personnel were dispatched, along with essential medical supplies. Additionally, within the first week, the ERCC oversaw the delivery of 17 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including medicines and medical equipment, to support the relief efforts.
COVID-19 pandemic: In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the UCPM efficiently facilitated the repatriation of over 90,000 EU citizens globally. Additionally, through rescEU, it secured and distributed over 1.3 million protective masks, ventilators, PPE, therapeutics, and other vital supplies to bolster national health systems. The crisis has also led to a reinforced legal framework, enhancing preparedness for multi-country emergencies by enabling the European Commission to procure essential resources directly under rescEU, subject to specific conditions.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Besides the 860 million euros in humanitarian aid, including food, water, essential household items, health care and psychosocial support, that has been allocated by European Commission, an additional 796 million EUR of in-kind assistance and emergency operations have been given via the UCPM. The latter includes 145,000 tons of aid, including power generators, medical equipment, temporary shelter units, water treatment stations and specialised equipment for public health risks such as chemical, biological and nuclear threats, as well as more than 2800 completed medevac operations as of June 2024.