The European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism

The European Civil Protection Mechanism, established in 2001 by the European Union, enables participating countries to coordinate their assistance in response to a large-scale emergency situation that a country's civil protection cannot handle alone. It can be deployed anywhere in the world.
Through awareness-raising, training, exchanges of experts and the organization of simulation exercises, it contributes to preparing for and preventing disasters in the long term.

History

The European Civil Protection Mechanism was established in 2001, by the Euratom Decision of, with the objective of providing participating countries in the mechanism with the means to provide mutual assistance or lend assistance to third countries when a disaster occurs.
In 2013, European legislation on civil protection significantly modified the organization of the UCPM and strengthened its role:

by focusing its activities on disaster prevention and preparedness as well as risk management assessment and planning;
by establishing the Emergency Response Coordination Centre, which is operational 24/7 and has the capacity for disaster monitoring and coordination of interventions. It works directly with the contact points of the participating states and can respond to multiple requests simultaneously.
Management of the UCPM

The European Commission manages the mechanism through its Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. As these two activities often go hand in hand, ECHO's humanitarian mandate was extended to civil protection in 2010 to coordinate the assistance of states participating in the UCPM in the event of a disaster, both in terms of civil security and humanitarian aid.

Mode of operation

This mechanism primarily aims to protect people, but can also cover the environment, property and cultural sites.
When the scale of an emergency situation exceeds national response capacities in civil protection, the UCPM enables the organization of a coordinated intervention through the effective pooling of resources offered by participating states. The mechanism can thus avoid duplication of efforts and provide assistance that precisely meets the real needs of the affected country.
Any country in the world, the United Nations and its agencies, and certain international organizations can request assistance through the UCPM.
Currently, thirty-seven states participate in the UCPM: the twenty-seven member states of the European Union as well as ten other European countries.
Emergency situations can occur as a result of disasters of natural origin or human origin.
Furthermore, emergency situations related to marine pollution can also trigger the UCPM. In this case, the work is carried out in collaboration with the European Maritime Safety Agency.

European Civil Protection Pool

In 2013, to improve the effectiveness of the response of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, both in terms of coordination and reduction of intervention times, a reserve of various resources was established. Medical resources are grouped within the European Medical Corps.
When activated, the transport and deployment costs of the pool's modules are covered up to 75% by the European Commission.

Examples of intervention situations

The Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa ;
The floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, which was the largest European mobilization in civil protection with the intervention of twenty-three states;
The conflicts in Eastern Ukraine ;
The European migrant crisis ;
The earthquake in Nepal ;
The wildfires in June 2017 in Portugal ;
The wildfires in the summer of 2018 in Sweden ;
The Crans-Montana bar fire in Switzerland.
Assistance provided to affected countries

The assistance is composed of resources provided by the states participating in the UCPM. It includes material assistance, expertise, the dispatch of field teams and intervention modules, as well as the delivery of specific equipment.
In order to assess needs and ensure coordination with local authorities and international organizations, experts can also be sent on site. They can also carry out advisory missions to countries on prevention and preparedness aimed at reducing the impact of disasters.

Funding

The participating states provide the majority of the funding for the UCPM.
The European Commission provides financial support for the general functioning of the ERCC, the sending of expert teams, the co-financing of the logistical transport of means, studies and surveys, the funding of a training and exercise program, and the funding of public awareness and information operations.
For the period 2014-2020, the European budget allocated to the implementation of the UCPM amounts globally to €368.4 million, divided as follows:

€223.7 million are usable for disaster prevention, preparedness and response purposes within the European Union;
and the remainder is reserved for similar actions outside the European Union.

This budget is supplemented by additional contributions from countries participating in the UCPM that are not members of the European Union.
Furthermore, when European civil protection assistance is requested by third countries, it is usually accompanied by humanitarian aid.