Search Legislation

Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96Show full title

Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid

 Help about what version

What Version

  • Latest available (Revised)
  • Original (As adopted by EU)
 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

 Help about opening options

Opening Options

More Resources

 Help about UK-EU Regulation

Legislation originating from the EU

When the UK left the EU, legislation.gov.uk published EU legislation that had been published by the EU up to IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.). On legislation.gov.uk, these items of legislation are kept up-to-date with any amendments made by the UK since then.

Close

This item of legislation originated from the EU

Legislation.gov.uk publishes the UK version. EUR-Lex publishes the EU version. The EU Exit Web Archive holds a snapshot of EUR-Lex’s version from IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.).

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96, CHAPTER I. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

CHAPTER IU.K.Objectives and general principles of humanitarian aid

Article 1U.K.

The Community's humanitarian aid shall comprise assistance, relief and protection operations on a non-discriminatory basis to help people in third countries, particularly the most vulnerable among them, and as a priority those in developing countries, victims of natural disasters, man-made crises, such as wars and outbreaks of fighting, or exceptional situations or circumstances comparable to natural or man-made disasters. It shall do so for the time needed to meet the humanitarian requirements resulting from these different situations.

Such aid shall also comprise operations to prepare for risks or prevent disasters or comparable exceptional circumstances.

Article 2U.K.

The principal objectives of the humanitarian aid operations referred to in Article 1 shall be:

(a)

to save and preserve life during emergencies and their immediate aftermath and natural disasters that have entailed major loss of life, physical, psychological or social suffering or material damage;

(b)

to provide the necessary assistance and relief to people affected by longer-lasting crises arising, in particular, from outbreaks of fighting or wars, producing the same effects as those described in subparagraph (a), especially where their own governments prove unable to help or there is a vacuum of power;

(c)

to help finance the transport of aid and efforts to ensure that it is accessible to those for whom it is intended, by all logistical means available, and by protecting humanitarian goods and personnel, but excluding operations with defence implications;

(d)

to carry out short-term rehabilitation and reconstruction work, especially on infrastructure and equipment, in close association with local structures, with a view to facilitating the arrival of relief, preventing the impact of the crisis from worsening and starting to help those affected regain a minimum level of self-sufficiency, taking long-term development objectives into account where possible;

(e)

to cope with the consequences of population movements (refugees, displaced people and returnees) caused by natural and man-made disasters and carry out schemes to assist repatriation to the country of origin and resettlement there when the conditions laid down in current international agreements are in place;

(f)

to ensure preparedness for risks of natural disasters or comparable exceptional circumstances and use a suitable rapid early-warning and intervention system;

(g)

to support civil operations to protect the victims of fighting or comparable emergencies, in accordance with current international agreements.

Article 3U.K.

Community aid referred to in Articles 1, 2 and 4 may be used to finance the purchase and delivery of any product or equipment needed for the implementation of humanitarian operations, including the construction of housing or shelter for the victims, the costs associated with the outside staff, expatriate or local, employed for those operations, the storage, international or national transport, logistics and distribution of relief and any other action aimed at facilitating or obtaining freedom of access for aid recipients.

It may also be used to finance any other expenditure directly related to the implementation of humanitarian operations.

Article 4U.K.

Such Community aid referred to in Articles 1 and 2 may also be used to finance:

  • preparatory and feasibility studies for humanitarian operations and the assessment of humanitarian projects and plans,

  • operations to monitor humanitarian projects and plans,

  • small-scale training schemes and general studies in the field of humanitarian operations, to be phased out gradually where funding is over several years,

  • the cost of highlighting the Community nature of the aid,

  • public awareness and information campaigns aimed at increasing understanding of humanitarian issues, especially in Europe and in third countries where the Community is funding major humanitarian operations,

  • measures to strengthen the Community's coordination with the Member States, other donor countries, international humanitarian organizations and institutions, non-governmental organizations and organizations representing them,

  • the technical assistance necessary for the implementation of humanitarian projets, including the exchange of technical know-how and experience by European humanitarian organizations and agencies or between such bodies and those of third countries,

  • humanitarian mine-clearance operations, including campaigns to increase awareness of anti-personnel mines on the part of the local population.

Article 5U.K.

Community financing under this Regulation shall take the form of grants.

The operations covered by this Regulation shall be exempt from taxes, charges, duties and customs duties.

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as adopted version that was used for the EU Official Journal
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.

The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.

For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as adopted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources