What is it?
The EU established the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP) to advance European cooperation in civil protection. Its objective is to enable a faster, better-coordinated, and more effective European response to both human-induced disasters and natural hazards.
EU countries, along with additional participating states also taking part in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, can voluntarily commit civil protection resources - known as response capacities - to the ECPP for 1 or more years:
- these resources are kept ready for rapid deployment to disaster zones abroad at short notice.
- each response capacity combines specialised staff and equipment necessary to effectively respond to disasters
Why is this important?
Whenever a disaster strikes, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism may receive a request for assistance from the affected country. In such cases, response capacities must be deployed as quickly as possible to support national response efforts.
Being well-prepared to respond immediately to a disaster is essential to save lives and minimise damage. The ECPP enables quality-assured and more predictable EU response operations.
To achieve this, the European Commission has established a certification and registration process, which ensures that the capacities - such as emergency response teams and their equipment - provided by EU countries and participating states meet high operational standards.
Certification includes the participation of response capacities in disaster simulation exercises, so that their performance can be observed and assessed by a certifying team composed of peers and EU staff. The goal is to verify that the teams can operate effectively during international deployments.
For most response capacities, the European Commission oversees and funds the certification process with support from national experts.
How are we helping?
As of September 2025, Member States and participating states have offered a total of 149 specialised response capacities to the European Civil Protection Pool.
Of these, 114 are certified and ready for deployment in response operations both within and outside the EU, following a request for assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The European Commission provides financial support to capacities in the Pool when they are deployed for response operations. These capacities include, among others:
- mountain rescue teams
- mobile laboratories
- medical air evacuation units
- water purification equipment
The Commission contributes to transport and/or operational costs for deployments within or outside Europe. Additionally, financial support is available for upgrading or repairing response capacities committed to the Pool to enhance disaster preparedness.
EU co-financing, in the form of “adaptation grants,” can be granted for existing capacities within an EU country or participating state to ensure their readiness for international deployments.
Timeline
Examples of recent response operations using resources from the European Civil Protection Pool:
- 2025: Wildfires in Spain
In the summer 2025, Spain was severely impacted by more than 130 large wildfires. In August, almost 300 roads were closed and more than 35,900 people evacuated. As per provisional estimates, more than 390,000 hectares were burnt, almost 4 times the annual average. The wildfire behaviour and the simultaneity of the fires in several regions put the national firefighting resources under immense pressure.
Spain activated the UCPM and, among other EU assistance, several ECPP response capacities were dispatched to Spain:
- 2 ground forest firefighting teams with vehicles from France and Germany
- 3 ground forest firefighting teams from Finland, Romania and Greece
Altogether, they represented 230 firefighters with specialised equipment.
- 2024: Floods in France
France experienced severe flooding and river overflows caused by heavy rainfall. On 2 January, the country requested emergency assistance through the UCPM for the Nord and Pas de Calais departments.
The Netherlands and Slovakia each deployed a high-capacity pumping team.
- The Netherlands dispatched 4 pumps, pipelines, personnel, and transport vehicles
- Slovakia sent 1 high-capacity pumping module equipped with 2 pumps
- 2023: Earthquake in Türkiye
On 6 February 2023, Türkiye was struck by a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake. On the same day, the country activated the UCPM, requesting urban search and rescue teams as well as emergency medical teams.
In response, 12 Member States deployed a wide range of capacities from the ECPP. These included urban search and rescue teams and emergency medical teams, which were promptly sent to Türkiye. Additionally, a technical assistance support team accompanied an EU Civil Protection team that coordinated the EU’s response on the ground.
After the emergency response phase concluded, all ECPP teams were demobilised and returned to their bases.
- 2022: Cyclone in Madagascar
Tropical cyclone Batsirai struck Madagascar’s south-eastern coast on 5 February, with winds exceeding 160 km/h. Another tropical storm, Dumako, made landfall in northern Madagascar on 15 February. In response:
- France deployed a water purification module and a remotely piloted aerial system, both of which arrived in Madagascar on 9 February and were deployed to Mananjary
- Germany also deployed a water purification module, which arrived in Madagascar on 9 February
- Poland sent an emergency medical team consisting of 15 doctors, nurses, and paramedics - the team was deployed to Nosy Varica
Facts & figures
The European Civil Protection Pool is a reserve of emergency response teams and equipment, known as “capacities”.
Capacities are committed by EU countries and participating states to respond to disasters both inside and outside the EU. To date, they have jointly contributed 149 resources to the Pool.
The Pool was established in 2013.
It enables a more predictable, pre-planned, and quality-checked European response.
The European Medical Corps brings together all health-related response capacities committed to the Pool.
Last updated: 12/09/2025