Strasbourg, 20/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament last week followed its rapporteur Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL, Greece) and approved the European Commission proposal to extend the Community action plan for civil protection, which was due to expire on December 31, for two years to December 2006. The Parliament also agreed with its rapporteur that the Commission proposal to take the annual budget for the action plan from 1.5 million euros in 2004 to 2.4 million in 2005 and 2006. According to the Commission, this increase is justified in particular by the enlargement of the EU.
The rapporteur stated that, in its communication of 2004 on reinforcing the Union's civil protection capacities, the Commission proposed an assessment of the capacity of the Community instrument for reaction to disasters put in place in 2001. That communication was drafted in the context of the disasters which have happened over the last few years, said Mr Papadimoulis: floods, heat-waves, forest fires, earthquakes, rejection of toxic products, major industrial accidents, terrorist attacks, and also catastrophes caused by humans such as oil spill caused by the "Prestige". In his report, Mr Papadimoulis emphasised the need to strengthen the existing system, particularly by: - improving communication, coordination and prior information systems to increase public awareness, and the exchange of information on available resources and "strategies and practices which have produced results at national level"; - improving training of emergency teams; - resolving difficulties in financing; - ensuring more active participation from civil society and local authorities and sufficient means for research and development of emergency systems; - drawing up, while respecting the subsidiary principle, national coordination plans for emergency situations. (Some member states, such as Germany, are very conscious of the subsidiarity principle in this area: NDLR).