The European Union is the N°1 donor of humanitarian aid worldwide. Together with the governments of the 25 Member States, the Commission in Brussels funds over 50% of the institutional humanitarian aid in the world - and it manages over half of this aid. In 2004, humanitarian aid from the Commission reached €570 million, supporting programmes in over 60 countries outside of the European Union, and benefiting millions of victims of disaster.
Within the Commission, operations are organised by the Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) under the responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel. The department has a multinational taskforce in Brussels and approximately 50 field offices in, or close to, crises zones.
