Across the world people suffer from crisis situations, man-made or natural disasters. The world's leading donor of humanitarian aid is the EU. Saving lives is the primary mandate of the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO). Since its creation in 1992, ECHO has financed humanitarian aid in more than 140 countries. ECHO provides relief assistance through humanitarian aid and civil protection actions. ECHO helps over 120 million victims of conflicts and disasters each year and addresses forgotten crises, which escape the attention of media and the international community. -- EU Bookshop.

Over the last few decades international organisations, national governments, and governmental and private actors have all multiplied their efforts to limit the extent to which natural catastrophes, man-made atrocities and political and economic breakdowns affect civil populations. The European Union and Humanitarian Crises: Patterns of Intervention addresses the allocation of foreign aid within the framework of the European Union’s Humanitarian Aid policy and analyses different Member States’ intervention strategies designed to cope with these emergencies. Joining the debate about bilateral and multilateral allocation of foreign aid in crisis situations and exploring the cooperative actions undertaken by the European Union and its Member States to cope with them the book questions how the context of the crises themselves impacts on strategies of intervention and investigates how strategies change depending on the characteristics of the crisis.

The images of conflicts and disasters which fill our television screens and newspapers are the backdrop to our world's increasingly complex and vulnerable environment. As the scale of natural disasters and conflicts increases, humanitarian needs grow. The EU responds by providing emergency assistance to victims of disasters and conflicts based on their needs around the world. It does this through the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO). ECHO's mission is to alleviate suffering, maintain the dignity of those affected and save lives. This is one of the most tangible expressions of the EU's core value of solidarity. This publication is a part of a series that explains what the EU does in different policy areas, why the EU is involved and what the results are.

'European humanitarian aid makes a true difference for thousands and thousands of people who know that Europe is a force which stands for those universal values that are so essential to make the world a better place to live in.' This brochure is part of the series 'The European Union explained' that explains what the EU does in the fields where it has powers, why it does this and what it achieves -- EU Bookshop.

EU Management of Global Emergencies: Legal Framework for Combating Threats and Crises provides a thorough analysis of the role played by the European Union (EU) in combating some of the global emergencies that currently affect, or are likely to affect, our planet. In particular, the potential of a “regional” model for coping with such emergencies is examined, taking into account the perceived inefficacy of traditional prevention and reaction mechanisms provided both by individual States and international organisations. The expression “global emergencies” refers to all situations, irrespective of the subject matter involved, which are characterised by an unexpected state of crisis which affects one or more regions of the world and call for an urgent and coordinated response from competent bodies and institutions. Furthermore, the book tests the role of the EU in managing global emergencies with respect to four broad areas: the economic and financial crises, the protection of the environment, terrorism and humanitarian aid, while maintaining focus on the legal framework within which the EU deals with such global emergencies in the light of the innovations brought about by the Lisbon Treaty. With contributions by leading experts in each of the identified set of challenges, EU Management of Global Emergencies: Legal Framework for Combating Threats and Crises aims at increasing the understanding of : (a) the contribution of regional organizations such as the EU to the management of global emergencies; (b) the effectiveness of the EU external action and the actual involvement of the EU in global cooperation processes against global emergencies; (c) global standards of human rights protection in relation to measures adopted in crises; and (d) the coordination mechanisms between the EU and other international organisations with a global or regional membership, in the management of global emergencies.