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European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

Civil protection

Civil protection assistance consists of governmental aid delivered in preparation for or immediate aftermath of a disaster in Europe and worldwide.

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Aid takes the form of in-kind assistance, deployment of specially-equipped teams, or experts assessing and coordinating support right in the field. When a disaster overwhelms a country’s ability to contain it, other participating states step in and provide assistance. All EU Member States, as well as Iceland, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia and Turkey are taking part in the Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

Picture: European Union Civil Protection exercise in Austria: rescue teams looking for survivors of the disaster. © European Union/ECHO/Oerk

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7th European Civil Protection Forum

EU Civil Protection Knowledge Network

The Knowledge Network connects civil protection practitioners, policy makers and researchers to share skills and good practices. It makes knowledge and expertise in Civil Protection and Disaster Risk Management grow, improving prevention, preparedness and response.

EU Civil Protection Mechanism

In October 2001, the European Commission established the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The Mechanism aims to strengthen cooperation between the EU countries and 6 Participating States on civil protection to improve prevention, preparedness, and response to disasters.

Early Warning and Information Systems

The EU’s early warning and information systems help the Emergency Response Coordination Centre monitor hazards and events worldwide. Examples of hazards that the Centre monitors are earthquakes and tsunamis, tropical cyclones, volcanoes, droughts, floods, and forest fires.

Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC)

The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is the heart of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. It coordinates the delivery of assistance to disaster-stricken countries,

Emergency Support Instrument

The Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) enables the EU to support its Member States when a crisis reaches unprecedented scale and impact, with wide-ranging consequences on the lives of citizens.

European Civil Protection Pool

The EU established the European Civil Protection Pool to advance European cooperation in civil protection.

European Disaster Risk Management

European Medical Corps

The European Medical Corps enables quick medical assistance and public health expertise from all EU Member States and Participating States to a health...

Forest fires

Forest fires are uncontrolled fires that occur in nature, often rendered more severe by climatic conditions. Long dry spells increase the risk of...

Peer Review programme

Managed by the European Commission's civil protection and humanitarian aid department (DG ECHO), the Peer Review programme is a tool made available to civil protection authorities of Member States, Participating States, Enlargement and Neighbourhood countries under the Civil Protection Mechanism.

The national disaster management system

rescEU

In 2019, the European Commission upgraded the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and created rescEU to reinforce and strengthen components of the EU’s disaster risk management.