The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), operated within the European Commission’s department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), is the heart of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).
When disaster strikes, every minute counts. Immediate and coordinated response is essential to save lives, even more so as natural and man-made disasters are on the rise due to climate change, population growth, urbanisation and increased industrial activity. The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), operated within the European Commission’s department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), is the heart of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), set up to support a coordinated and quicker response to disasters both inside and outside Europe.
Following the request by a country affected by disasters, the Centre, which operates on a 24/7 basis, coordinates and facilitates the rapid deployment of emergency support. The assistance to disaster stricken countries may take the form of specialised equipment, relief items or expertise. In certain cases to support delivery of the assistance on the ground, the ERCC mobilises and deploys the EU Civil Protection teams (EUCPT).
When the emergency context requires, the ERCC launches a call for interest and puts together a team of experts that have been nominated by the Member States and/or the six UCPM Participating States.
Once the team has been selected, the experts are in continuous contact with the ERCC that manages the entire deployment. Colleagues in Brussels take care of the logistics related to the deployment, from preparing the expert’s contract to organising the travel and accommodation arrangements. The analytical team prepares the security briefing, sets up safety protocols and the ERCC provides insurance coverage. From its headquarters, the ERCC briefs the experts on the situation on the ground before their departure and offers continued 24/7 support to the experts while on mission. This way, the experts can focus on their mission and on saving lives, and do not need to worry about the practical aspects. They know the ERCC team will be always there to help and they can get in touch with them anytime.
No mission is the same, there are always new elements coming with the nature of the emergency, but time is always the biggest challenge to overcome. A lot of arrangements have to be often prepared in short time, and it can be challenging to find, for example, travel options at short notice. Since COVID-19 hit, this became even more challenging because we need to take into account additional constraints and requirements. (...) Even in this new difficult context, we managed. We continue to send experts and provide them support. Nothing is more satisfying than to see the experts return safe and
In many deployments, liaison officers from the ERCC itself as well as a technical assistance and support team (TAST) are also deployed to provide support on logistics, administration and ICT to the EUCPT on the ground.
Since 2003, the ERCC has coordinated assistance more than 500 times in response to activations of the EUCPM. 690 experts have been deployed for a total of over 190 missions to all corners of the World including Philippines, Mozambique, Nepal, Chile and Albania to mention as examples. Only in 2021, the ERCC has deployed experts to Equatorial Guinea, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Sri Lanka and most recently to Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake that hit the country on 14 August.
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