The fund helps EU countries respond to emergencies and disasters. It has been activated to help in earthquakes, fires, floods and most recently to gather the necessary medical equipment to combat Covid-19 and evacuate EU citizens stranded around the world by the coronavirus outbreak.

Check out the timeline of EU measures to fight Covid-19 and mitigate its impact.

Aiming to fill the gaps revealed by the pandemic crisis, the European Parliament wants to increase preparedness and response to disasters at EU level.

In a vote on 16 September 2020, the European Parliament adopted its position on the revamped EU Civil Protection Mechanism, welcoming the significant increase of the EU's allocated budget for 2021-2027, as proposed by the European Commission.

MEPs called for more clarity about how funds are split between prevention, preparedness and response. The Parliament said a significantly larger amount should go to preparedness, including the purchase of the necessary supplies to help EU countries efficiently manage future health crises, similar to the Covid-19 pandemic.