Ukraine, a major beneficiary of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) since the Russian aggression, is about to become a full member. According to a note from the EU Council Secretariat dated 17 March and consulted by EUROPE, official participation is expected to take place in April and be retroactive.
It should be recalled that this solidarity mechanism allows - at the request of any country inside or outside the EU struggling to cope with a large-scale natural or man-made disaster - to provide urgent assistance in kind, coordinated by the European Commission, which finances at least 75% of the transport costs.
The application for participation was submitted in June 2022, the day after the European Council granted it candidate status. This is the perspective in which it is set.
Arrangements for this were made by the European Commission, which considered that the country had considerably improved its civil protection system and was sufficiently mature in terms of the national organisation of its civil protection capabilities to join the UCPM.
“Following the notification by Ukraine of the completion of the national ratification procedure” regarding these arrangements, “it is envisaged that the mechanism be retroactively applicable as of 1 January 2023, subject to Council authorisation”, the note says.
See the text: https://aeur.eu/f/5z1 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)