On Thursday 23 November, the European Commission will present the measures it proposes for strengthening the EU's civil protection mechanism and it could, on this occasion, lay the groundwork for a joint civil protection force that would enable the EU to be more responsive to disasters than just with simple coordination of national civil protection resources made available when a request is made for assistance.
The proposal had been announced by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the European summit on 20 October, when he gave European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Christos Stylianides a mandate to work towards a more powerful EU civil protection mechanism (see EUROPE 11893, 11888).
The subject was discussed by the college of commissioners on Wednesday 21 November, and the Commission's proposals – a communication and a proposal for a decision of the Parliament and Council to change the operation of the civil protection mechanism – will be adopted by written procedure on Thursday. The idea of a European force, proposed by Michel Barnier in 2004, has since been picked up by France's President Emmanuel Macron. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)