EU: New European System to Tackle Natural Disasters
Today the
The proposal is a central part of
President
"The tragedies of last summer and the past few years have shown that our current disaster response system has reached its limits in its existing voluntary format. The challenges we face have evolved, and so must we. It is a matter of solidarity and shared responsibility at all levels. This is what European citizens expect from us and I now look to European governments and the
The Commission proposal focuses on two complementary strands of action, targeting (i) a stronger collective response at European level and (ii) improved prevention and preparedness capacities:
Strengthening European response capacities: rescue
- An EU civil protection response reserve of civil protection assets will be established to assist Member States in responding to disasters, when national capacities are overwhelmed. rescEU will include assets, such as firefighting aircraft and water pumping equipment, which will complement national capacities. All costs and capacities of rescEU would be fully covered by EU financing, with the Commission retaining the operational control of these assets and deciding on their deployment.
- In parallel, the Commission will assist Member States to boost their national capacities, by financing the adaptation, repair, transport and operation costs of their existing resources - whereas today only transportation costs are covered. The assets would become part of a shared pool of emergency response resources under the
Stepping up disaster prevention and preparedness
- Under today's proposal, Member States will be asked to share their national prevention and preparedness strategies, in order to collectively identify and address possible gaps.
- The proposal strengthens cooperation and coherence with existing EU policies dealing with prevention and preparedness. This includes for example the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, the European Structural and Investment Funds, the
Finally, the proposal will streamline and simplify administrative procedures in order to reduce the time needed to deploy life-saving assistance.
Background
2017 has seen a wide range of disasters. In total, over 200 people were killed by natural disasters in
Since its establishment in 2001, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has monitored over 400 disasters and has received over 250 requests for assistance. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism can be activated in response to man-made and natural disasters, but also supports disaster preparedness and prevention.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism includes all EU Member States as well as several other participating states outside the EU, namely,
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rescEU: a new European system to tackle natural disasters
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