In one month's time, the European Commission will put forward a proposal to enable the EU civil protection mechanism to respond better to the needs of countries requesting help because they have been devastated by natural disasters. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced this on Thursday evening 19 October, after the first day of the European Council that saw the EU leaders express their solidarity for countries like Spain, Portugal and the Baltic states, which have recently been devastated by extreme weather conditions.
"Commissioner Stylianides has been put in charge of presenting a global proposal on the so-called civil protection mechanism in one month's time from now because we have seen we are not reactive enough. We were able to have one plane on Sunday from Italy, arrive in Portugal on Thursday. Things cannot stay as they are", Juncker said.
Speaking at the end of the summit on Friday, France's President Emmanuel Macron said there was support from everyone for the idea of a European civil protection force, which he had spoken about in his speech at the Sorbonne University, Paris, in September. "We expressed European solidarity with Portugal and Spain that are victims of fires, and with Ireland and the Baltic countries that are victims of dramatic climate events. We collectively supported the idea of a European civil protection force. The idea is backed by the European Parliament and Mr Juncker", Macron stated, saying this time that Michel Barnier was at the origin of this idea. Barnier, who is currently the EU's chief negotiator for Brexit, did indeed make a proposal on this civil protection force in 2004 when he was European commissioner for regional policy, in order to move beyond the status of competence for support that civil protection has in the Treaty (see EUROPE 8674).
In Macron's view, this European force would respond to the idea of a "Europe that protects". It should be noted that after Hurricane Irma devastated the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean, France did not activate the EU civil protection mechanism, unlike the Netherlands.
The EU civil protection mechanism, in which 31 countries participate, currently enables the coordination of supplies of resources (personnel and rescue equipment, and civil protection equipment) from participating states in response to the request for assistance from the authorities of disaster-affected countries, be they in the EU or third countries. The European Commission co-finances the costs of transport, ensures the match between supply and demand, and coordinates the aid via its Emergency Resource Coordination Centre (ERCC). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang with editorial team)