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European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
Peer review
© European Union, 2014
Peer Review programme

What is it?

A peer review of disaster risk management and civil protection systems provides a country or a region with a unique opportunity to reflect on its readiness to cope with natural hazards and human-induced disasters and to identify ways of strengthening its prevention and preparedness policy and practices. It also facilitates the exchange of good practices.

The peer review programme is a tool made available to civil protection authorities of Member States, participating states, enlargement and neighbourhood countries under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism legislation. It is managed by the Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department.

How does it work?

The peer review programme is carried out in close partnership between the Commission, the team of peers (civil protection experts and practitioners selected for the specific review), and the relevant authorities of the country/region under review.

The Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change (CMCC), based in Italy, is currently supporting this programme until 2024.

The peers prepare a report, including an overview of the situation, and identified good practices and recommendations for improvement, based on desk research and in-country discussions.

The civil protection authorities of the country under review have an opportunity to review and comment on the report during its drafting. The review is completed when the final report including recommendations and good practices is released.

Depending on the administrative organisation and responsibilities at various levels across the Member States and participating states in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, a peer review may be undertaken at national and/or regional level.

Wildfire Peer Reviews

Guidance material

To guide the peer review process for both the country/region under review and the peer team, the following key documents are available:

General guidelines30 September 2021
Peer Review Assessment Framework (PRAF)

The Peer Review Assessment Framework (PRAF) describes the disaster risk management thematic areas that are to be reviewed. The 7 thematic areas are: (i) disaster risk reduction governance, (ii) risk assessment, (iii) risk management planning, (iv) risk prevention, (v) risk preparedness, (vi) emergency response, and (vi) recovery and lessons learned.
The host country or region can choose all or a subset of the thematic areas to define the scope of their respective peer review.
The document also assists the structuring and drafting of the peer review report.

Cover
English
(4.06 MB - PDF)
Download
General guidelines25 May 2023
Wildfire Peer Review Assessment Framework (Wildfire PRAF)

The Wildfire Peer Review Assessment Framework (Wildfire PRAF) is a tool designed to facilitate thematic reviews of wildfire risk management systems, within the framework of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. It builds on the general Peer Review Assessment Framework (PRAF( It focuses on the risk associated with large-scale unplanned or uncontrolled wildfire fires affecting natural, cultural, industrial, and residential landscapes.
The framework also serves as a self-assessment tool for countries and regions to analyse their own systems for wildfire risk management.

Cover image
English
(14.5 MB - PDF)
Download
General guidelines30 September 2021
Peer Review Guidelines

This document provides the essentials for an effective peer review. It clarifies the principles that drive the process, the roles and responsibilities of the different actors involved, the workflow to be followed, and the tools available.

Cover
English
(2.36 MB - PDF)
Download

Peer-reviewed countries

To date, 16 countries have benefitted from a peer review: the United Kingdom, Finland, Bulgaria, Georgia, Türkiye, Estonia, Malta, Poland, Cyprus, North Macedonia, Tunisia, Serbia, Algeria, Portugal, Romania, and Republic of Moldova. Find links to all peer review reports in the list below.

Latest peer reviews

Peer Review reports

Country Date Review Report
Republic of Moldova 2023 Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management en
Romania 2023 Thematic peer review on disaster risk management governance and prevention en
Portugal 2019 Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management en
Serbia 2019 Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management en
Algeria 2019 Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management fr