Brussels, 12/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - Following the meeting of the Directors General for Civil Protection held in Knokke Thursday and Friday (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.10), Margot Wallstrom, European Commissioner responsible for environmental policy, announced the launch of a Community action plan aimed at responding to possible terrorist attacks.
At the meeting, chaired by the Commission, the Directors General of Member States, candidate countries and countries of the European Economic Area recalled that the response to terrorist attacks remained a competence of Member States and that national emergency plans were being adapted in the light of the post-11 September challenge. They did however decide to substantially tighten co-operation within the EU by drawing up an action plan comprising two chapters.
The first, which should be achieved before 31 October, provides for bringing forward implementation of the Community mechanism aimed at playing in favour of enhanced co-operation in the framework of rescue interventions under civil protection and, more precisely: - the creation of a group of NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) experts on hand 24 hours a day and prepared to assist any country requesting their aid; - strengthening the current "24/24 hours" point of contact networks to face any request or offer of assistance; to that end, national and Community structures will be inter-linked as far as possible through special telephone lines; - closer inter-agency co-operation at national and Community levels, especially with health services, in view of gathering information on serums, vaccines, antibiotics, hospital availability, as well as to exchange information on early-warning systems set up by Member States; - the setting up of a systematic information exchange system on accidents or threats of terrorist attacks; - the setting up of a task force of national experts that will strengthen the Commission's Civil Protection Unit to create the monitoring and follow-up centre provided for in the mechanism.
The second chapter of the plan will begin with an organised workshop under the Belgian Presidency early-December to draw up a short-, medium- and long-term working programme, including in matters of research. On the basis of the conclusions of this workshop, the Commission will organise a forum composed of experts of Member States to implement the programme defined by the workshop. Finally, a self-training programme will be established in view to contributing to better preparing operational officials to tackle any threat of large-scale terrorist attack, especially NBC attacks. This programme will enable professionals to exchange the fruit of their experience.