In order to avoid a recurrence in the future of the initial difficulties encountered in the EU in meeting the urgent needs of Member States facing shortages of anti-Covid-19 medical equipment, the European Commission proposes to significantly reinforce the budgetary means of the Civil Protection Mechanism and its Strategic Equipment Reserve 'rescEU'.
Two billion euros are to be earmarked for this reinforcement in the revised proposal for the multiannual financial framework 'Next Generation EU', presented by the Commission to the European Parliament on Wednesday 27 May, and the new programme 'Reinforced rescEU' will be allocated a total of €3.1 billion over the period 2021-2027.
In the Commission's view, it will enable the EU and the Member States to be better prepared and able to react quickly and flexibly to crises, especially those with a major impact on the economy and societies, such as the coronavirus crisis.
In order to ensure an effective overall EU response to large-scale emergencies, rescEU requires maximum flexibility and a genuine capacity to act at EU level, including budgetary and operational flexibility.
With this in mind, the Commission proposes to strengthen its emergency tools and make them more flexible so that resources can be deployed rapidly and on a large scale when needed.
The Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve will also be considerably strengthened to enable a rapid response to crises both inside and outside the EU.
The programme should provide the EU with capacities and a proficient logistical infrastructure that can cater for different types of emergency, including those with a medical emergency component. It would include mechanisms for the EU to: - acquire, rent, lease and stockpile identified 'rescEU' capacities; - bring in products and personnel from outside the EU and dispatch inside the EU; - swiftly transport products and personnel from several points across the EU to other points where the products and personnel are needed.
The mechanism will include an improved and integrated on-line communication system, which will be accessible to all Member States so that the relevant resources can be activated in the short term and at any time.
Administrative procedures will be kept to a minimum in order to reduce the burden of and delays in deployment, which is crucial in emergency situations.
The international preparedness and response component of the Civil Protection Mechanism will also be strengthened so that the capabilities can also be used outside the EU.
Link to the Commission Communication 'Europe’s moment - Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation': https://bit.ly/2XDnQpj (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)