European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps: open to all Europeans

Members of the European Parliament's Development Committee have unanimously adopted Michèle Striffler's draft Report establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (EU Aid Volunteers), finalised after negotiations in trilogue with the Council of the EU and the European Commission.

"The EU Aid Volunteers will bring real added-value that will contribute to reinforcing the ability of the EU to respond to humanitarian crises. Their deployment will be based on the needs identified on the ground in order to help the most vulnerable people. Therefore, every European citizen will be able to participate in this admirable initiative which is one of the innovations of the Lisbon Treaty", declared Michèle Striffler, permanent Rapporteur for humanitarian aid and first Vice-President of the Development Committee.

Striffler continued: "Solidarity constitutes a fundamental value of the EU and volunteering is a concrete and visible expression of this solidarity. The number and scale of humanitarian crises around the world have increased considerably. Humanitarian aid is a moral imperative."

"The selection of volunteers will respect a diversity of profiles and skills among young people, pensioners and experts. Moreover, the European Commission will support operations to enhance the experience of volunteers, including certification at the end of the deployment on the ground", concluded Michèle Striffler.

The voluntary initiative of the EU will have a budget of around €148m for the period 2014-2020. The legislative proposal will be adopted in the February 2014 plenary session.