As “the crisis Commissioner” I often deal with bad news – you, dear reader, know this from many of my posts.

But today I want to give you some good news – the European Corps of humanitarian volunteers is turning from an article in the Treaty of Lisbon into reality. The first batch of European humanitarian volunteers – around 100 of them – will soon begin their training; a few months from today, the volunteers will take up their assignment – in places where they will help with post-disaster relief, or in countries where they will work together with the local population in disaster prevention.

Today we launched the pilot stage of the Corps in Budapest, together with the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union. In three pilot projects, our first humanitarian volunteers will be selected, trained in the skills and knowledge required to do humanitarian work, and deployed to the field. Their experiences will help us structure the European Voluntary Corps in a way that benefits both the Europeans who want to make a difference in the world, and the people who need our solidarity in the aftermath of disasters and crises. Based on the lessons from the pilot, we will launch the full-fledged Corps next year.

In my view, this is one of our most exciting projects at the Commission – and I know many European citizens agree. One out of three young Europeans engages in volunteering – this we know from statistics. But I also know, from my meetings with young people around Europe – bloggers, students, journalists, activists – that their generation is very much connected to the world, aware of its problems, and keen to go out there and do something to make it better. These connected and committed Europeans have an enormous potential, and need the right opportunity, the right platform, to live their values – our values: solidarity, compassion, and the urge to be part of the solution. The future European Corps of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers will hopefully be such a platform.

If you are keen to learn more about the pilot phase of the Corps, if you are thinking of applying to be a European humanitarian volunteer, or if you just would like to discuss about this project – I would love to hear from you. On June 22 (Wednesday), at 16:00 (CET), I will be online, and available for a chat on this topic through the European Commission’s Facebook page. I look forward to an interesting conversation with you!

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Tags: European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps, Humanitarian Aid, Hungary, volunteering