One of the foundational pillars for the creation of a solidarity mechanism was set in place in 1987,[2] following the Council resolution for the introduction of a Community Cooperation on Civil Protection.

This Council resolution led to several others, particularly one in 1991 aimed at improving mutual aid between Member States in the event of natural or technological disasters.

Second, it introduced the Solidarity Clause, which created[8]‘’one of the most explicit demands upon EU Member States to act jointly and to assist one another in the face of crises, inside and outside, to protect citizens and critical infrastructure’’.In 2023 with Decision 1313/2023 the UCPM was strengthened and the ERCC, replacing the MIC, was formally established.

[9] On 15 May 2013, the ERCC was inaugurated by the commission's president, Jose Manuel Barroso and European Commissioner, for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, and started its 24/7 operations.

222 TFEU), where the ERCC was explicitly made to be the central contact point at Union level with Member States’ competent authorities and other stakeholders upon invocation of the Solidarity Clause.

[19] The ERCC lies at the heart of the UCPM, where it efficiently coordinates support for crises worldwide once the Mechanism has been activated by a request for assistance from an affected country.

2013 Typhoon Haiyan (Philippines): As a response to one of the decade's deadliest tropical cyclones, 26 participating states of the UCPM offered in-kind assistance, including 25 civil protection experts, medical services in the form of medical teams, posts and field hospitals that provided treatment for thousands of patients, shelter and sanitation items and in total 40 million euros of humanitarian and early recovery funding.

The European Union Civil Protection Team (EUCPT), composed of 10 experts and three Liaison officers, was deployed to Nepal for a total period of 20 days.

To support the response also two EU Civil Protection teams were deployed to Mozambique together with four ERCC liaison officers and one European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control epidemiologist.

Additionally, within the first week, the ERCC oversaw the delivery of 17 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including medicines and medical equipment, to support the relief efforts[24] COVID-19 pandemic: In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the UCPM efficiently facilitated the repatriation of over 90,000 EU citizens globally.

Additionally, through rescEU, it secured and distributed over 1.3 million protective masks, ventilators, PPE, therapeutics, and other vital supplies to bolster national health systems.

The crisis has also led to a reinforced legal framework, enhancing preparedness for multi-country emergencies by enabling the European Commission to procure essential resources directly under rescEU, subject to specific conditions.

In total 23 UCPM participating states offered in-kind assistance, including more than 450,000 shelter items, 130,000 food and 46 million medicinal products.

[20] Under the UCPM, the ERCC also organises advisory missions to offer tailor-made support and advice to better respond to the negative impacts of natural and human-induced hazards.

In 2022, an advisory mission to Cuba was carried out within the context of a Disaster Preparedness Programme managed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Food Program (WFP) called `Strengthening of national and local capacities for the comprehensive management of multiple risks in the event of disasters in order to reduce their impact on the most vulnerable population in Cuba’.

The mission was a follow-up to a UCPM activation by Sri Lanka in June 2021 to respond to the maritime disaster of the MS X-Press Pearl vessel catching fire.

[28] To perform its monitoring information and coordination tasks, the ERCC can count on its Analytical Team to ensure continuous and comprehensive situational awareness to support the decision-making process.

The European Commission developed a number of early warning systems and services as part of its legal obligation stated in  Regulation 836/2021 amending Decision 1313/2013/EU, establishing the Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

In particular, the ERCC uses on a daily basis mainly the following Early Warning and Information Systems developed under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism in close cooperation with the Joint Research Centre (JRC).

GDACS is a framework of cooperation between the United Nations and the European Commission to improve alerts, information exchange and coordination in the first phase after major sudden-onset disasters.

Its Multi-Hazard Early Warning System component provides alerts and estimates the impacts of earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones, floods, volcanic activity, and droughts worldwide.

These forecasts are generated by comparing EFAS/GloFAS simulation outputs with pre-determined flood thresholds for each grid cell, derived from discharge time series produced by the operational LISFLOOD hydrological model, using ERA5 forcing data from Copernicus.

By conducting a statistical analysis of these values, the observatories can forecast unusually wet or dry conditions, thus serving as an early warning system for impending droughts and allowing for timely mitigation and planning measures.

Additionally, in case of situations other than natural hazards, the ERCC can access the Copernicus service that provides support to EU External and Security Actions (SESA) for security-related issues.

These range from protecting EU citizens and managing crises and conflicts to ensuring environmental compliance and climate security.Finally, for acute marine pollution hazards such as oil spills, the ERCC can count on assistance given by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).