ECHO (European Commission)

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European Community Humanitarian aid Office (ECHO) is the European Commission's department for humanitarian aid. In 2005 it provided EUR652m for humanitarian aid. The yearly amount spent by ECHO is similar to the amount spent by EU member states individually. Together, this amounts to around half of the world's humanitarian aid budget.

ECHO comes under the direct responsibility of Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. Through ECHO funding, nearly 20 million people are helped each year in more than 60 countries through 190 partners (NGOs, international organisations, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and UN agencies)

The key principle of ECHO's work is to focus on humanitarian need without regard to foreign policy concerns, which nation states may be more concerned with.

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	European Commission Directorates-General
Internal policy: Agriculture | Competition | Economic and Financial Affairs | Education and Culture | Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities | Enterprise and Industry | Environment | Fisheries and Maritime Affairs | Health and Consumer Protection | Information Society and Media | Internal Market and Services | Joint Research Centre | Justice, Freedom and Security | Regional Policy | Research | Taxation and Customs Union | Transport and Energy
External policy: External Relations | Development | Enlargement | Trade | EuropeAid | ECHO
Services: General | Internal | Interpretation | Translation
Table of European Commission Directorates-General and Services