The Communication proposes a series of key actions to expedite the provision of humanitarian aid by expanding the resource base, supporting a better enabling environment for humanitarian partners and addressing the root causes of crises through a “Team Europe” approach. It highlights a renewed focus on international humanitarian law (IHL) and also sets out to tackle the dramatic humanitarian impact of climate change. 

The EU will set up a new European Humanitarian Response Capacity in order to intervene directly in humanitarian crises, when traditional humanitarian delivery mechanisms via EU partners or their capacities may be ineffective or insufficient. This will aim to facilitate logistics including transport, enabling the pooling of resources and facilitating their deployment in the field. This capacity could, for instance, offer logistical assessments, support for initial deployment and procurement, stockpiling, transporting and / or distributing relief items, including Covid-19 vaccines and their delivery in fragile countries. It will work in coordination and complementarity with the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, relying on the operational support of the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC).