Introduction: EU Emergency Response Policies and NGOs—Why It Matters

Abstract

The scholarship on the EU humanitarian aid has already made many significant contributions. The relations among EU institutions, member states, and other competent non-state actors have, however, developed and increased in complexity; this is not always well explained and deserves further research. This book aims at shedding new light on the topic, by focusing on the influence exerted by NGOs as implementing actors of programmes and projects taken up by the EU Commission and member states in shaping and executing their humanitarian agenda. The empirical analysis is based on a comparison of funding provided to NGOs by member states and the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) in the period 2005–2016.