The Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) approved on Monday 30 November the EU Council’s negotiating mandate for the Commission’s 2 June proposal (amendment of Decision 1313/2013/EU) to give the EU the means for a more efficient, effective and flexible collective response to any large-scale natural, health - such as the Covid-19 pandemic - or nuclear disaster (see EUROPE 12574/16).
This mandate complements the partial negotiating position agreed by the EU-27 ambassadors in October on the elements of the proposal for a regulation on the financing of the mechanism for the 2021-2027 period under the 2021-2027 EU budget (see EUROPE 12576/18). Negotiations with the European Parliament on the full text of the proposal can now begin.
It should be recalled that this proposal provides for reinforcing the capacities of the RescEU strategic equipment reserve and the strengthening of the European civil protection pool, and it also includes a section on ‘strengthening disaster prevention and preparedness’.
The proposed rules allow the European Commission to fill transport and logistics gaps and, in case of emergency, to directly procure additional capacity from the EU. In addition, the Commission and the Member States have apparently defined and developed EU disaster resilience objectives in the field of civil protection.
The Parliament adopted its position in September (see EUROPE 12561/17).
To consult the EU Council’s mandate: https://bit.ly/3o281UC (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)