Executive summary of the evaluation of the European union solidarity fund 2002-2017

This Staff Working Document includes the results of the evaluation of the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF), covering the Fund’s implementation and performance since its introduction in 2002 and until 2017. The issues analysed include the effectiveness and time efficiency of the approval, implementation and closure of EUSF interventions, the role of the Fund’s revision in 2014, the synergies between EUSF and other EU policy instruments for disaster risk management, and the stakeholders’ perceptions of the EU added value of this policy instrument and its role in inspiring further policy developments in national systems for disaster risk management. The evaluation follows the Commission’s principles of Better Regulation, providing evidence for the five evaluation criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added value. In addition, it also considers the instrument specific evaluation criterion of EU solidarity. The evaluation was carried out between September 2018 and March 2019.