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Document 02013D1313-20231218
Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance
Consolidated text: Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance
Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance
02013D1313 — EN — 18.12.2023 — 004.001
This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. The Union's institutions do not assume any liability for its contents. The authentic versions of the relevant acts, including their preambles, are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union and available in EUR-Lex. Those official texts are directly accessible through the links embedded in this document
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DECISION No 1313/2013/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 347 20.12.2013, p. 924) |
Amended by:
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Official Journal |
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No |
page |
date |
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REGULATION (EU) 2018/1475 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 2 October 2018 |
L 250 |
1 |
4.10.2018 |
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DECISION (EU) 2019/420 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 March 2019 |
L 77I |
1 |
20.3.2019 |
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REGULATION (EU) 2021/836 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 May 2021 |
L 185 |
1 |
26.5.2021 |
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DECISION (EU) 2023/2671 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 22 November 2023 |
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28.11.2023 |
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DECISION No 1313/2013/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 17 December 2013
on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism
(Text with EEA relevance)
CHAPTER I
GENERAL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES, SUBJECT MATTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
General objective and subject matter
Article 2
Scope
This Decision shall apply to cooperation in the field of civil protection. Such cooperation shall include:
prevention and preparedness actions inside the Union and, as far as Articles 5(2) and 13(3) and 28 are concerned, also outside the Union; and
actions to assist with the response to immediate adverse consequences of a disaster inside or outside the Union, including in the countries referred to in Article 28(1), following a request for assistance through the Union Mechanism.
Article 3
Specific objectives
The Union Mechanism shall support, complement and facilitate coordination of Member States’ action in pursuit of the following common specific objectives:
to achieve a high level of protection against disasters by preventing or reducing their potential effects, by fostering a culture of prevention and by improving cooperation between the civil protection and other relevant services;
to enhance preparedness at Member State and Union level to respond to disasters;
to facilitate rapid and efficient response in the event of disasters or imminent disasters, including by taking measures to mitigate the immediate consequences of disasters and encouraging Member States to work towards removing bureaucratic obstacles;
to increase public awareness and preparedness for disasters;
to increase the availability and use of scientific knowledge on disasters; and
to step up cooperation and coordination activities at cross-border level and between Member States prone to the same types of disasters.
Indicators shall be used for monitoring, evaluating and reviewing as appropriate the application of this Decision. Those indicators shall be:
progress in implementing the disaster prevention framework: measured by the number of Member States that have made available to the Commission the information referred to in point (d) of Article 6(1);
progress in increasing the level of readiness for disasters: measured by the quantity of response capacities included in the European Civil Protection Pool in relation to the capacity goals referred to in Article 11, the number of modules registered in the Common Emergency Communication and Information System (CECIS) and the number of rescEU capacities established to provide assistance in overwhelming situations;
progress in improving the response to disasters: measured by the speed of interventions under the Union Mechanism and the extent to which the assistance contributes to the needs on the ground; and
progress in increasing public awareness and preparedness for disasters: measured by the level of awareness of Union citizens of the risks in their region.
Article 4
Definitions
For the purpose of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:
'disaster' means any situation which has or may have a severe impact on people, the environment, or property, including cultural heritage;
'response' means any action taken upon request for assistance under the Union Mechanism in the event of an imminent disaster, or during or after a disaster, to address its immediate adverse consequences;
'preparedness' means a state of readiness and capability of human and material means, structures, communities and organisations enabling them to ensure an effective rapid response to a disaster, obtained as a result of action taken in advance;
'prevention' means any action aimed at reducing risks or mitigating adverse consequences of a disaster for people, the environment and property, including cultural heritage;
'Union disaster resilience goals' means non-binding objectives established in the area of civil protection to support prevention and preparedness actions for the purposes of improving the capacity of the Union and its Member States to withstand the effects of a disaster which causes or is capable of causing multi-country transboundary effects;
'early warning' means the timely and effective provision of information that allows action to be taken to avoid or reduce risks and the adverse impacts of a disaster, and to facilitate preparedness for an effective response;
'module' means a self-sufficient and autonomous predefined task- and needs-driven arrangement of Member States’ capabilities or a mobile operational team of the Member States, representing a combination of human and material means that can be described in terms of its capacity for intervention or by the task(s) it is able to undertake;
'risk assessment' means the overall cross-sectoral process of risk identification, risk analysis, and risk evaluation undertaken at national or appropriate sub-national level;
'risk management capability' means the ability of a Member State or its regions to reduce, adapt to or mitigate risks (impacts and likelihood of a disaster), identified in its risk assessments to levels that are acceptable in that Member State. Risk management capability is assessed in terms of the technical, financial and administrative capacity to carry out adequate:
risk assessments;
risk management planning for prevention and preparedness; and
risk prevention and preparedness measures;
'host nation support' means any action undertaken in the preparedness and response phases by the country receiving or sending assistance, or by the Commission, to remove foreseeable obstacles to international assistance offered through the Union Mechanism. It includes support from Member States to facilitate the transiting of this assistance through their territory;
'response capacity' means assistance that may be provided through the Union Mechanism upon request;
'logistical support' means the essential equipment or services required for expert teams referred to in Article 17(1) to perform their tasks, inter alia communication, temporary accommodation, food or in-country transport;
'participating State' means a third country participating in the Union Mechanism in accordance with Article 28(1).
CHAPTER II
PREVENTION
Article 5
Prevention actions
To fulfil the prevention objectives and carry out prevention actions, the Commission shall:
take action to improve the knowledge base on disaster risks, and to better facilitate and promote cooperation and the sharing of knowledge, the results of scientific research and innovation, best practices and information, including among Member States that share common risks;
support and promote Member States' risk assessment and mapping activity through the sharing of good practices, and facilitate access to specific knowledge and expertise on issues of common interest;
establish and regularly update a cross-sectoral overview and map of natural and man-made disaster risks, including risks of disasters which cause or are capable of causing multi-country transboundary effects, the Union may face, by taking a coherent approach across different policy areas that may address or affect disaster prevention and taking due account of the likely impacts of climate change;
encourage an exchange of good practices on preparing national civil protection systems to cope with the impact of climate change;
promote and support the development and implementation of Member States' risk management activity through the sharing of good practices, and facilitate access to specific knowledge and expertise on issues of common interest;
compile and disseminate the information made available by Member States; organise an exchange of experiences about the assessment of risk management capability; and facilitate the sharing of good practices in prevention and preparedness planning, including through voluntary peer reviews;
report periodically, in accordance with the deadlines set out in point (d) of Article 6(1), to the European Parliament and to the Council on the progress made in the implementation of Article 6;
promote the use of various Union funds which may support sustainable disaster prevention and encourage the Member States and regions to exploit those funding opportunities;
highlight the importance of risk prevention, support the Member States in awareness-raising, public information and education, and support the Member States' efforts in the provision of public information on alert systems, by providing guidance on such systems, including on a cross-border level;
promote prevention measures in the Member States and third countries, referred to in Article 28, through the sharing of good practices, and facilitate access to specific knowledge and expertise on issues of common interest; and
in close consultation with Member States, take additional necessary supporting and complementary prevention action in order to achieve the objective specified in point (a) of Article 3(1).
Article 6
Risk management
In order to promote an effective and coherent approach to the prevention of and preparedness for disasters by sharing non- sensitive information, namely information disclosure of which would not be contrary to the essential interests of Member States' security, and to promote the exchange of best practices within the Union Mechanism, Member States shall:
further develop risk assessments at national or appropriate sub-national level;
further develop the assessment of risk management capability at national or appropriate sub-national level;
further develop and refine disaster risk management planning at national or the appropriate subnational level, including as regards cross-border collaboration, taking into account the Union disaster resilience goals referred to in paragraph 5, when established, and the risks related to disasters which cause or are capable of causing multi-country transboundary effects;
make available to the Commission a summary of the relevant elements of the assessments referred to in points (a) and (b), focusing on key risks. For key risks having cross-border impacts and risks related to disasters which cause or are capable of causing multi-country transboundary effects, as well as, where appropriate, for low probability risks with a high impact, Member States shall describe priority prevention and preparedness measures. The summary shall be provided to the Commission by 31 December 2020 and every three years thereafter, as well as whenever there are important changes;
participate, on a voluntary basis, in peer reviews on the assessment of risk management capability;
in line with international commitments, improve the collection of disaster loss data at national or the appropriate sub-national level to ensure evidence-based scenario building as referred to in Article 10(1) and the identification of gaps in disaster response capacities.
Where a Member State frequently requests the same type of assistance through the Union Mechanism for the same type of disaster, the Commission, following a careful analysis of the reasons and circumstances of the activation, and with the aim of supporting the Member State concerned to strengthen its level of prevention and preparedness, may:
request that Member State to provide additional information on specific prevention and preparedness measures related to the risk corresponding to that type of disaster; and
where appropriate, based on the information provided:
propose the deployment of an expert team on site to provide advice on prevention and preparedness measures; or
make recommendations to strengthen the level of prevention and preparedness in the Member State concerned. The Commission and that Member State shall keep each other informed about any measures taken following such recommendations.
In the event that a Member State requests the same type of assistance through the Union Mechanism for the same type of disaster three times within three consecutive years, points (a) and (b) shall apply unless a careful analysis of the reasons for and circumstances of the frequent activations demonstrate that it is not necessary.
CHAPTER III
PREPAREDNESS
Article 7
Emergency Response Coordination Centre
The ERCC shall in particular coordinate, monitor and support in real-time the response to emergencies at Union level. The ERCC shall work in close contact with national civil protection authorities and relevant Union bodies to promote a cross-sectoral approach to disaster management.
Article 8
General preparedness actions of the Commission
The Commission shall carry out the following preparedness actions:
manage the ERCC;
manage CECIS to enable communication and sharing of information between the ERCC and the Member States’ contact points;
work with Member States:
to develop transnational detection and early warning systems of Union interest in order to mitigate the immediate effects of disasters;
to better integrate existing transnational detection and early warning systems based on a multi-hazard approach, with a view to minimising the lead time to respond to disasters;
to maintain and further develop situational awareness and analysis capability;
to monitor disasters and, where relevant, climate change impacts, and provide advice based on scientific knowledge thereof;
to translate scientific information into operational information;
to create, maintain and develop European scientific partnerships to cover natural and man-made hazards, which in turn should promote the linkage between national early warning and alert systems and the linkage of such systems with the ERCC and CECIS;
to support the efforts of Member States and mandated international organisations with scientific knowledge, innovative technologies and expertise when Member States and such organisations further develop their early warning systems, including through the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network referred to in Article 13;
establish and manage the capability to mobilise and dispatch expert teams, responsible for:
assessing the needs that can possibly be addressed under the Union Mechanism in the Member State or third country requesting assistance,
facilitating, where necessary, the coordination of disaster response assistance on site and liaising with the competent authorities of the Member State or third country requesting assistance, and
supporting the Member State or third country requesting assistance with expertise on prevention, preparedness or response actions;
establish and maintain the capability to provide logistical support to the expert teams referred to in point (d);
develop and maintain a network of trained experts of the Member States, who can be available at short notice to assist the ERCC in the monitoring of information and facilitating coordination;
facilitate the coordination of the Member States’ pre-positioning of disaster response capacities inside the Union;
support efforts to improve the interoperability of modules and other response capacities, taking into account best practices at the level of the Member States and at international level;
take, within its sphere of competence, the necessary actions to facilitate host nation support, including developing and updating, together with Member States, guidelines on host nation support, on the basis of operational experience;
support the creation of voluntary peer review assessment programmes for the Member States’ preparedness strategies, based on pre-defined criteria, which will enable recommendations to be formulated to strengthen the level of preparedness of the Union;
in close consultation with the Member States, take additional necessary supporting and complementary preparedness action to achieve the objective specified in point (b) of Article 3(1); and
support Member States, upon their request, in respect of disasters happening within their territories by providing the possibility of using European scientific partnerships for targeted scientific analysis. The resulting analyses may be shared via CECIS, with the agreement of the affected Member States.
Article 9
General preparedness actions of the Member States
Member States shall identify, in advance, modules, other response capacities and experts within their competent services, in particular within their civil protection or other emergency services, which could be made available for intervention upon request through the Union Mechanism. They shall take into account that the composition of modules or other response capacities may depend on the type of disaster and on the disaster-related particular needs.
Modules shall be made up of the resources of one or more Member States and shall:
be able to perform pre-defined tasks in the areas of response in accordance with established international guidelines and therefore be able to:
be dispatched at very short notice following a request for assistance through the ERCC; and
work self-sufficiently and autonomously for a given period of time;
be interoperable with other modules;
undertake training and exercises in order to meet the interoperability requirement;
be placed under the authority of a person who is responsible for the operation of modules; and
be able to cooperate with other Union bodies and/or international institutions, in particular the United Nations, as appropriate.
Other response capacities may comprise resources from one or more Member States and, where appropriate, shall:
be able to perform tasks in the areas of response in accordance with established international guidelines and therefore be able to:
be dispatched at very short notice following a request for assistance through the ERCC; and
work self-sufficiently and autonomously where necessary for a given period of time;
be able to cooperate with other Union bodies and/or international institutions, in particular the United Nations, as appropriate.
Where a Member State decides to use the emergency services provided by Galileo referred to in the first subparagraph, it shall identify and notify to the Commission the national authorities authorised to use those emergency services.
Article 10
Scenario-building and disaster management planning
The Commission and the Member States shall work together to improve cross-sectoral disaster risk management planning at Union level, both for natural and man-made disasters which cause or are capable of causing multi-country transboundary effects, including the adverse effects of climate change. That planning shall include scenario-building at Union level for disaster prevention, preparedness and response, taking into account the work carried out in relation to the Union disaster resilience goals as referred to in Article 6(5) and the work by the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network as referred to in Article 13, and based on:
the risk assessments referred to in point (a) of Article 6(1);
the overview of risks referred to in point (c) of Article 5(1);
Member States’ assessment of risk management capability referred to in point (b) of Article 6(1);
available disaster loss data referred to in point (f) of Article 6(1);
the voluntary exchange of existing information on disaster risk management planning at national or the appropriate sub-national level;
asset mapping; and
the development of plans for the deployment of response capacities.
Article 11
European Civil Protection Pool
The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shall monitor progress towards the capacity goals set out in the implementing acts referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, and identify potentially significant response capacity gaps in the European Civil Protection Pool. Where such gaps have been identified, the Commission shall examine whether the necessary capacities are available to the Member States outside the European Civil Protection Pool. The Commission shall encourage Member States to address significant response capacity gaps in the European Civil Protection Pool. It may support Member States in this regard in accordance with Article 20 and point (i) of Article 21(1) and Article 21(2).
Article 12
rescEU
In order to guarantee an effective response to disasters, the Commission and the Member States shall, where appropriate, ensure an adequate geographical distribution of rescEU capacities.
In duly justified cases of urgency, the Commission may acquire, rent, lease or otherwise contract capacities determined by means of implementing acts adopted in accordance with the urgency procedure referred to in Article 33(3). Such implementing acts shall:
determine the necessary type and quantity of material means and any necessary enabling support services, already defined as rescEU capacities; and/or
define additional material means and any necessary enabling support services as rescEU capacities and determine the necessary type and quantity of those capacities.
rescEU capacities shall be hosted by the Member States that acquire, rent, lease or otherwise contract those capacities.
rescEU capacities may only be used for national purposes, as referred to in Article 23(4a), when not being used or needed for response operations under the Union Mechanism.
rescEU capacities shall be used in accordance with implementing acts adopted under point (g) of Article 32(1) and with operational contracts between the Commission and the Member State owning, renting or leasing such capacities, which further specify the terms and conditions of deployment of rescEU capacities, including participating personnel.
The Member State on the territory of which rescEU capacities are deployed shall be responsible for directing response operations. In the event of deployments outside the Union, Member States hosting rescEU capacities shall be responsible for ensuring that rescEU capacities are fully integrated into the overall response.
When rescEU capacities are deployed in third countries, in specific cases, Member States may refuse to deploy their own personnel, in accordance with the implementing act adopted under point (g) of Article 32(1), and as further defined in the operational contracts referred to in the third subparagraph of paragraph 5 of this Article.
Article 13
Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network
The Commission, through the Network, shall take due account of the expertise available in the Member States, at Union level, at the level of other international organisations and entities, at the level of third countries and at the level of organisations active on the ground.
The Commission and the Member States shall promote gender-balanced participation in the establishment and the functioning of the Network.
The Commission, through the Network, shall support coherence of planning and decision-making processes by facilitating the continuous exchange of knowledge and information involving all areas of activity under the Union Mechanism.
To that end, the Commission, through the Network, shall inter alia:
set up and manage a training and exercises programme for civil protection and disaster management personnel on prevention of, preparedness for and response to disasters. The programme shall focus on and encourage the exchange of best practices in the field of civil protection and disaster management, including in relation to disasters originating from climate change, and include joint courses and a system for the exchange of expertise in the area of disaster management, including exchanges of professionals and experienced volunteers, and the secondment of Member State experts.
The training and exercises programme shall aim to enhance the coordination, compatibility and complementarity of capacities referred to in Articles 9, 11 and 12, and to improve the competence of experts as referred to in points (d) and (f) of Article 8(1);
set up and manage a programme of lessons learnt from civil protection actions conducted within the framework of the Union Mechanism, including aspects from the entire disaster management cycle, in order to provide a broad basis for learning processes and knowledge development. The programme shall include:
monitoring, analysing and evaluating all the relevant civil protection actions within the Union Mechanism;
promoting implementation of lessons learnt in order to obtain an experience-based foundation for the development of activities within the disaster management cycle; and
developing methods and tools for gathering, analysing, promoting and implementing lessons learnt.
That programme shall also include, where appropriate, lessons learnt from interventions outside the Union with regard to exploiting links and synergies between assistance provided under the Union Mechanism and humanitarian response;
stimulate research and innovation, and encourage the introduction and use of relevant new approaches or technologies or both for the purpose of the Union Mechanism;
set up and maintain an online platform serving the Network to support and facilitate the implementation of the different tasks referred to in points (a), (b) and (c).
CHAPTER IV
RESPONSE
Article 14
Notification of disasters within the Union
The first subparagraph shall not apply where the obligation of notification has already been addressed under other Union legislation, under the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community or under existing international agreements.
Article 15
Responding to disasters within the Union
Upon receiving a request for assistance, the Commission shall, as appropriate and without delay:
forward the request to the contact points of other Member States;
collect and analyse validated information on the situation, in conjunction with the affected Member State, with the goal of generating common awareness of the situation and the response to the situation, and disseminate that information directly to the Member States;
make recommendations, in consultation with the requesting Member State, for the provision of assistance through the Union Mechanism, based on the needs on the ground and any relevant pre-developed plans, as referred to in Article 10(1), invite Member States to deploy specific capacities and facilitate the coordination of the required assistance; and
take additional action to facilitate the coordination of the response.
Article 16
Promoting consistency in the response to disasters outside the Union
The Commission shall support the consistency in the delivery of the assistance through the following actions:
maintaining a dialogue with the Member States’ contact points in order to ensure an effective and coherent Union disaster response contribution through the Union Mechanism to the overall relief effort, in particular by:
informing Member States without delay of the full requests for assistance;
supporting a common assessment of the situation and needs, providing technical advice and/or facilitating the coordination on site of assistance through the presence of a civil protection expert team on site;
sharing relevant assessments and analyses with all relevant actors;
providing an overview of assistance being offered by Member States and other actors;
advising on the type of assistance required in order to ensure that the assistance provided is consistent with the needs assessments; and
assisting in overcoming any practical difficulties in the delivery of assistance in areas such as transit and customs;
immediately making recommendations, when possible in cooperation with the affected country, based on the needs on the ground and any relevant pre-developed plans, inviting Member States to deploy specific capacities and facilitating the coordination of the requested assistance;
liaising with the affected country on technical details, such as the precise needs for assistance, the acceptance of offers and the practical arrangements for the local reception and distribution of assistance;
liaising with or supporting OCHA, and cooperating with other relevant actors that contribute to the overall relief effort, in order to maximise synergies, seek complementarities and avoid duplication and gaps; and
liaising with all relevant actors, in particular in the closing phase of the assistance intervention under the Union Mechanism, to facilitate a smooth handover.
Article 17
Support on site
The Commission may select, appoint and dispatch an expert team composed of experts provided by Member States:
upon request for prevention expertise in accordance with Article 5(2);
upon request for preparedness expertise in accordance with Article 8(2);
in the event of a disaster within the Union as referred to in Article 15(5);
in the event of a disaster outside the Union as referred to in Article 16(3).
Experts from the Commission and from other services of the Union may be integrated in the team in order to support the team and facilitate liaison with the ERCC. Experts dispatched by UN agencies or other international organisations may be integrated in the team in order to strengthen cooperation and facilitate joint assessments.
Where operational effectiveness so requires, the Commission, in close cooperation with Member States, may facilitate the involvement of additional experts, through their deployment, and technical and scientific support, and reach back to specialist scientific, emergency medical and sectoral expertise.
The procedure for the selection and appointment of experts shall be the following:
Member States shall nominate experts, under their responsibility, who can be deployed as members of expert teams;
the Commission shall select the experts and the leader for those teams on the basis of their qualifications and experience, including the level of the Union Mechanism training undertaken, previous experience of missions under the Union Mechanism and other international relief work; the selection shall also be based on other criteria, including language skills, to ensure that the team as a whole has the skills needed in the specific situation;
the Commission shall appoint experts and team leaders for the mission in agreement with their nominating Member State.
The Commission shall notify Member States of additional expert support provided in accordance with paragraph 1.
Article 18
Transport and equipment
In the event of a disaster, either within or outside the Union, the Commission may support Member States in obtaining access to equipment or transport and logistical resources by:
providing and sharing information on equipment and on transport and logistical resources that can be made available by Member States, with a view to facilitating the pooling of such equipment or transport and logistical resources;
developing cartographical material for the swift deployment and mobilisation of resources, bearing in mind especially the particularities of cross-border regions for the purpose of multi-country transboundary risks;
assisting Member States to identify transport and logistical resources that may be available from other sources, including the commercial market, and facilitating their access to such resources; or
assisting Member States to identify equipment that may be available from other sources, including the commercial market.
CHAPTER V
FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Article 19
Budgetary resources
EUR 425 172 000 in current prices shall derive from Heading 3 "Security and Citizenship" of the multiannual financial framework and EUR 148 856 000 in current prices from Heading 4 "Global Europe".
Such expenditure may, in particular, cover studies, meetings of experts, information and communication actions, including corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, as far as they are related to the general objectives of the Union Mechanism, expenses linked to IT networks focusing on information processing and exchange, including their interconnection with existing or future systems designed to promote cross-sectoral data exchange and related equipment, together with all other technical and administrative assistance expenses incurred by the Commission for the management of the programme.
Article 19a
Resources from the European Union Recovery Instrument
Article 20
General eligible actions
The following general actions shall be eligible for financial assistance to enhance prevention of, preparedness for and effective response to disasters:
studies, surveys, modelling and scenario building to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, best practices and information;
training, exercises, workshops, exchange of staff and experts, creation of networks, demonstration projects and technology transfer;
monitoring, assessment and evaluation actions;
public information, education and awareness raising and associated dissemination actions, so as to involve citizens in preventing and minimising the effects of disasters in the Union and to help Union citizens to protect themselves more effectively and in a sustainable manner;
establishment and running of a programme of lessons learnt from interventions and exercises in the context of the Union Mechanism, including on areas relevant to prevention and preparedness; and
communication actions and measures to raise awareness of the civil protection work of the Member States and of the Union in the areas of prevention of, preparedness for and response to disasters.
Article 20a
Visibility and awards
Any funding or assistance provided under this Decision shall be given appropriate visibility in line with the specific guidance issued by the Commission for specific interventions. In particular, Member States shall ensure that public communication for operations funded under the Union Mechanism:
includes appropriate references to the Union Mechanism;
provides visual branding on the capacities funded or co-funded by the Union Mechanism;
delivers actions with the Union emblem;
proactively communicates details of the Union support to national media and stakeholders, as well as through their own communication channels; and
supports the Commission’s communication actions on the operations.
Where rescEU capacities are used for national purposes as referred to in Article 12(5), Member States shall, by the same means as referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, acknowledge the origin of those capacities and ensure the visibility of the Union funding used to acquire those capacities.
Article 21
Eligible prevention and preparedness actions
The following prevention and preparedness actions shall be eligible for financial assistance:
co-financing of projects, studies, workshops, surveys and similar actions and activities referred to in Article 5;
co-financing peer reviews, referred to in point (d) of Article 6 and point (j) of Article 8;
maintaining the functions provided by the ERCC, in accordance with point (a) of Article 8;
preparing for the mobilisation and dispatch of the expert teams referred to in point (d) of Article 8 and Article 17 and developing and maintaining a surge capacity through a network of trained experts of Member States, referred to in point (f) of Article 8;
establishing and maintaining the CECIS and tools to enable communication and sharing of information between the ERCC and the contact points of the Member States and of other participants in the context of the Union Mechanism;
contributing to the development of transnational detection, early warning and alert systems of European interest, in order to enable a rapid response as well as to promote the inter-linkage between national early warning and alert systems and their linkage to the ERCC and the CECIS. Those systems shall take into account and build upon existing and future information, monitoring or detection sources and systems;
developing disaster risk management planning, as referred to in Article 10;
supporting the preparedness activities described in Article 13;
developing the ►M2 European Civil Protection Pool ◄ , as referred to in Article 11, in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.
establishing, managing and maintaining rescEU capacities in accordance with Article 12;
ensuring the availability of logistical support for the expert teams referred to in Article 17(1);
facilitating the coordination of Member States' pre-positioning of disaster response capacities inside the Union in accordance with point (g) of Article 8; and
supporting the provision of advice on prevention and preparedness measures through the deployment of an expert team on site, upon the request of a Member State, third country, the United Nations or its agencies, as referred to in Article 5(2) and Article 13(3).
The eligibility for financial assistance for the action referred to in point (i) of paragraph 1 shall be limited to:
costs at Union level of setting up and managing the ►M2 European Civil Protection Pool ◄ and the associated processes set out in Article 11;
costs of obligatory training courses, exercises and workshops necessary for the certification of Member States' response capacities for the purposes of the ►M2 European Civil Protection Pool ◄ ("certification costs"). The certification costs may consist of unit costs or lump sums determined per type of capacity, covering up to 100 % of the eligible costs; and
costs necessary to upgrade or repair response capacities to a state of readiness and availability that makes them deployable as part of the European Civil Protection Pool, in accordance with the quality requirements of the European Civil Protection Pool and, where relevant, recommendations formulated in the certification process ("adaptation costs"). Those costs may include costs related to operability, interoperability of modules and other response capacities, autonomy, self-sufficiency, transportability, packaging, and other necessary costs, provided that they specifically relate to the capacities' participation in the European Civil Protection Pool.
Adaptation costs may cover:
75 % of the eligible costs in the event of an upgrade, provided that amount does not exceed 50 % of the average cost of developing the capacity; and
75 % of the eligible costs in the event of a repair.
Response capacities benefitting from funding under points (i) and (ii) shall be made available as part of the European Civil Protection Pool for a minimum period that is linked to the received funding and ranges between 3 and 10 years starting from their effective availability as part of the European Civil Protection Pool, except where their economic lifespan is shorter.
Adaptation costs may consist of unit costs or lump sums determined per type of capacity.
▼M2 —————
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 30 to amend Annex Ia regarding the categories of eligible costs.
▼M3 —————
Article 22
Eligible response actions
The following response actions shall be eligible for financial assistance:
dispatching expert teams referred to in Article 17(1) together with logistical support and dispatching experts referred to in points (d) and (e) of Article 8;
in the event of a disaster, supporting Member States in obtaining access to equipment and transport and logistical resources as specified in Article 23; and
pursuant to a request for assistance, taking additional necessary supporting and complementary action in order to facilitate the coordination of response in the most effective way.
Article 23
Eligible actions linked to equipment and operations
The following actions shall be eligible for financial assistance in order to allow access to equipment and transport and logistical resources under the Union Mechanism:
providing and sharing information on equipment and on transport and logistical resources that Member States decide to make available, with a view to facilitating the pooling of such equipment or transport and logistical resources;
assisting Member States to identify transport and logistical resources that may be available from other sources, including the commercial market, and facilitating their access to such resources;
assisting Member States to identify equipment that may be available from other sources, including the commercial market;
financing transport and logistical resources necessary for ensuring a rapid response to disasters. Such actions shall be eligible for financial support only if the following criteria are met:
a request for assistance has been made under the Union Mechanism in accordance with Articles 15 and 16;
the additional transport and logistical resources are necessary for ensuring the effectiveness of disaster response under the Union Mechanism;
the assistance corresponds to the needs identified by the ERCC and is delivered in accordance with the recommendations given by the ERCC on the technical specifications, quality, timing and modalities for delivery;
the assistance has been accepted by a requesting country, directly or through the United Nations or its agencies, or a relevant international organisation, under the Union Mechanism; and
the assistance complements, for disasters in third countries, any overall Union humanitarian response.
The Union financial assistance for transport and logistical resources may cover a maximum of 100 % of the total eligible costs specified in points (a) to (d), where this is necessary to make the pooling of Member States’ assistance operationally effective and where the costs relate to one of the following:
short-term rental of warehousing capacity to temporarily store the assistance from Member States with a view to facilitating their coordinated transport;
transport from the Member State offering the assistance to the Member State facilitating its coordinated transport;
repackaging of Member States’ assistance to make maximum use of available transport capacities or to meet specific operational requirements; or
local transport, transit and warehousing of pooled assistance with a view to ensuring a coordinated delivery at the final destination in the requesting country.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, Union financial assistance shall cover 100 % of the operational costs of rescEU capacities necessary for low probability disasters with a high impact, when those capacities are deployed under the Union Mechanism.
Without prejudice to paragraphs 1a and 2, Union financial support for the transport of assistance needed in environmental disasters in which the ‘polluter pays principle’ applies may cover a maximum of 100 % of the total eligible costs. The following conditions shall apply:
the Union financial support for the transport of assistance is requested by the affected or assisting Member State based on a duly justified needs assessment;
the affected or assisting Member State, as appropriate, takes all necessary steps to request and obtain compensation from the polluter, in accordance with all applicable international, Union or national legal provisions;
upon receiving compensation from the polluter, the affected or assisting Member State, as appropriate, shall immediately reimburse the Union.
In the event of an environmental disaster as referred to in the first subparagraph which does not affect a Member State, the actions referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) shall be carried out by the assisting Member State.
Article 24
Beneficiaries
Grants awarded under this Decision may be awarded to legal persons, whether governed by private or public law.
Article 25
Types of financial intervention and implementing procedures
No annual or multi-annual work programmes shall be required for actions falling under the disaster response laid down in Chapter IV, which cannot be provided for in advance.
Article 26
Complementarity and consistency of Union action
The Commission shall ensure that applicants for financial assistance under this Decision, and beneficiaries of such assistance, provide it with information about financial assistance received from other sources, including the general budget of the Union, and about on-going applications for such assistance.
Article 27
Protection of the financial interests of the Union
Where a third country participates in the Union Mechanism by means of a decision adopted pursuant to an international agreement or on the basis of any other legal instrument, the third country shall grant the necessary rights and access required for the authorising officer responsible, OLAF and the Court of Auditors to comprehensively exercise their respective competences. In the case of OLAF, such rights shall include the right to carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, as provided for in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 8 ).
CHAPTER VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 28
Third countries and international organisations
The Union Mechanism shall be open to the participation of:
European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), in accordance with the conditions laid down in the EEA Agreement, and other European countries when agreements and procedures so provide;
acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective Framework Agreements and Association Council Decisions, or similar agreements.
Article 29
Competent authorities
For the purposes of applying this Decision, Member States shall appoint the competent authorities and inform the Commission accordingly.
Article 30
Exercise of the delegation
▼M3 —————
Article 31
Urgency procedure
Article 32
Implementing acts
The Commission shall adopt implementing acts on the following matters:
the interaction of the ERCC with Member States' contact points, as provided for in point (b) of Article 8, Article 15(3) and point (a) of Article 16(3); and the operational procedures for the response to disasters within the Union, as provided for in Article 15, as well as outside the Union, as provided for in Article 16, including identification of relevant international organisations;
the components of CECIS as well as the organisation of information sharing through CECIS, as provided for in point (b) of Article 8;
the process for deploying expert teams, as provided for in Article 17;
the identification of modules, other response capacities and experts as provided for in Article 9(1);
the operational requirements for the functioning and interoperability of modules, as provided for in Article 9(2), including their tasks, capacities, main components, self-sufficiency and deployment;
the capacity goals, the quality and interoperability requirements and the certification and registration procedure necessary for the functioning of the ►M2 European Civil Protection Pool ◄ , as provided for in Article 11, as well as the financial arrangements, as provided for in Article 21(2);
the establishment, management and maintaining of rescEU, as provided for in Article 12, including criteria for deployment decisions, operating procedures as well as the costs as referred to in Article 21(3);
the establishment and organisation of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network, as provided for in Article 13;
the categories of low probability risks with a high impact and the corresponding capacities to manage them, as referred to in Article 21(4);
the criteria and procedures for recognising long-standing commitment and extraordinary contributions to Union civil protection, as referred to in Article 20a; and
the organisation of support for transport and logistical resources, as provided for in Articles 18 and 23.
Article 33
Committee procedure
Article 34
Evaluation
CHAPTER VII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 35
Transitional Provisions
Until ►M4 31 December 2027 ◄ , Union financial assistance may be provided to cover 75 % of the costs necessary to ensure rapid access to national capacities corresponding to those defined in accordance with Article 12(2). For that purpose, direct grants may be awarded by the Commission to Member States without a call for proposals.
The capacities referred to in the first paragraph shall be designated as rescEU capacities until the end of this transitional period.
By way of derogation from Article 12(6), the decision on the deployment of the capacities referred to in the first paragraph shall be taken by the Member State that made them available as rescEU capacities. When domestic emergencies, force majeure or, in exceptional cases, serious reasons prevent a Member State from making those capacities available for a specific disaster, that Member State shall inform the Commission as soon as possible by referring to this Article.
Article 36
Repeal
Decision 2007/162/EC, Euratom and Decision 2007/779/EC, Euratom are repealed. References to the repealed Decisions shall be construed as references to this Decision and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex II to this Decision.
Article 37
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 1 January 2014.
▼M2 —————
ANNEX I
Percentages for allocation of the financial envelope for the implementation of the Union Mechanism referred to in Article 19(1a) and of the amount referred to in Article 19a for the period 2021 to 2027
Principles
When implementing this Decision, the Union target of contributing to overall climate objectives and to the ambition of mainstreaming biodiversity action in the Union’s policies shall be duly taken into account to the extent that the unpredictability and specific circumstances of disaster preparedness and response so allow.
ANNEX IA
Categories of eligible costs as referred to in Article 21(3)
Equipment costs
Maintenance costs, including repair costs
Insurance costs
Training costs
Warehousing costs
Registration and certification costs
Cost of consumables
Cost of personnel required to ensure the availability and deployability of rescEU capacities.
ANNEX II
Correlation table
|
Council Decision 2007/162 EC, Euratom |
Council Decision 2007/779 EC, Euratom |
This Decision |
|
Article 1 (1) |
|
— |
|
Article 1 (2) |
|
Article 1 (4) |
|
Article 1 (3) |
|
— |
|
Article 1 (4) |
Article 1(2) |
Article 2 (2) |
|
|
Article 1 (1) |
— |
|
|
Article 1 (2), first subparagraph |
Article 1 (2) |
|
|
Article 1 (2), second subparagraph |
Article 1 (5) |
|
Article 2 (1) |
|
Article 2 (1), point (a) |
|
Article 2 (2) |
|
Article 2 (1), point (b) |
|
Article 2 (3) |
|
Article 1 (6) |
|
|
Article 2, point (1) |
— |
|
|
Article 2, point (2) |
Article 13 (1), point (a) |
|
|
Article 2, point (3) |
Article 20, point (b) |
|
|
Article 2, point (4) |
Article 8, point (d) |
|
|
Article 2, point (5) |
Article 7 and Article 8, point (a) |
|
|
Article 2, point (6) |
Article 8, point (b) |
|
|
Article 2, point (7) |
Article 8, point (c) |
|
|
Article 2, point (8) |
Article 18 (1) |
|
|
Article 2, point (9) |
Article 18 (2) |
|
|
Article 2, point (10) |
Article 16 (7) |
|
|
Article 2, point (11) |
— |
|
Article 3 |
Article 3 |
Article 4 |
|
Article 4 (1) |
|
Article 20 and Article 21 |
|
Article 4 (2), point (a) |
|
Article 22, point (a) |
|
Article 4 (2), point (b) |
|
Article 22, point (b), and Article 23 (1), points (a), (b) and (c) |
|
Article 4 (2), point (c) |
|
Article 23 (1), point (d) |
|
Article 4 (3) |
|
Article 23 (2) and (4) |
|
Article 4 (4) |
|
Article 32 (1), point (i) |
|
|
Article 4(1) |
Article 9 (1) |
|
|
Article 4 (2) |
Article 9 (3) |
|
|
Article 4 (3) |
Article 9 (1) and (2) |
|
|
Article 4 (4) |
Article 9 (4) |
|
|
Article 4 (5) |
Article 9 (5) |
|
|
Article 4 (6) |
Article 9 (6) |
|
|
Article 4 (7) |
Article 9 (9) |
|
|
Article 4 (8) |
Article 9 (7) |
|
Article 5 |
|
Article 24 |
|
|
Article 5, point (1) |
Article 8, point (a) |
|
|
Article 5, point (2) |
Article 8, point (b) |
|
|
Article 5, point (3) |
Article 8, point (c) |
|
|
Article 5, point (4) |
Article 8, point (d) |
|
|
Article 5, point (5) |
Article 13 (1), point (a) |
|
|
Article 5, point (6) |
— |
|
|
Article 5, point (7) |
Article 13 (1), point (d) |
|
|
Article 5, point (8) |
Article 13 (1), point (f) |
|
|
Article 5, point (9) |
Article 18 |
|
|
Article 5, point (10) |
Article 8, point (e) |
|
|
Article 5, point (11) |
Article 8, point (g) |
|
Article 6 (1) |
|
Article 25 (1) |
|
Article 6 (2) |
|
Article 25 (2) |
|
Article 6 (3) |
|
Article 25 (3), third and fourth sentences |
|
Article 6 (4) |
|
— |
|
Article 6 (5) |
|
Article 25 (3), first and second sentences |
|
Article 6 (6) |
|
— |
|
|
Article 6 |
Article 14 |
|
Article 7 |
|
Article 28 (1) |
|
|
Article 7 (1) |
Article 15 (1) |
|
|
Article 7 (2) |
Article 15 (3) |
|
|
Article 7 (2), point (a) |
Article 15 (3), point (a) |
|
|
Article 7 (2), point (c) |
Article 15 (3), point (b) |
|
|
Article 7 (2), point (b) |
Article 15 (3), point (c) |
|
|
Article 7 (3), first and third sentences |
Article 15 (4) and Article 16 (6) |
|
|
Article 7 (4) |
Article 15 (5) |
|
|
Article 7 (5) |
— |
|
|
Article 7 (6) |
Article 17 (3), first sentence |
|
Article 8 |
|
Article 26 |
|
|
Article 8 (1) first subparagraph |
Article 16 (1) |
|
|
Article 8 (1), second subparagraph |
Article 16 (2), first sentence |
|
|
Article 8 (1), third subparagraph |
— |
|
|
Article 8 (1), fourth subparagraph |
— |
|
|
Article 8 (2) |
Article 16 (4) |
|
|
Article 8 (3) |
— |
|
|
Article 8 (4), point (a) |
Article 16 (3), point (a) |
|
|
Article 8 (4), point (b) |
Article 16 (3), point (c) |
|
|
Article 8 (4), point (c) |
Article 16 (3), point (d) |
|
|
Article 8 (4), point (d) |
Article 16 (3), point (e) |
|
|
Article 8 (5) |
Article 16 (8) |
|
|
Article 8 (6), first subparagraph |
Article 17 (1) and Article 17 (2), point (b) |
|
|
Article 8 (6), second subparagraph |
Article 17 (3), second sentence |
|
|
Article 8 (7), first subparagraph |
— |
|
|
Article 8 (7), second subparagraph |
Article 16 (2), second sentence |
|
|
Article 8 (7), third subparagraph |
Article 16 (9) |
|
|
Article 8 (7), fourth subparagraph |
Article 16 (11) |
|
|
Article 8 (7), fifth subparagraph |
— |
|
|
Article 8 (8) |
Article 16 (10) |
|
|
Article 8 (9), point (a) |
Article 16 (12) |
|
|
Article 8 (9), point (b) |
Article 16 (13) |
|
Article 9 |
|
Article 16 (2) |
|
|
Article 9 |
Article 18 |
|
Article 10 |
|
Article 19 (3) |
|
|
Article 10 |
Article 28 |
|
Article 11 |
|
— |
|
|
Article 11 |
Article 29 |
|
Article 12 (1) |
|
Article 27 (1) |
|
Article 12 (2) |
|
— |
|
Article 12 (3) |
|
— |
|
Article 12 (4) |
|
— |
|
Article 12 (5) |
|
— |
|
|
Article 12 (1) |
Article 32 (1), point (e) |
|
|
Article 12 (2) |
Article 32 (1), point (a) |
|
|
Article 12 (3) |
Article 32 (1), point (b) |
|
|
Article 12 (4) |
Article 32 (1), point (c) |
|
|
Article 12 (5) |
Article 32 (1), point (h) |
|
|
Article 12 (6) |
Article 32 (1), point (d) |
|
|
Article 12 (7) |
— |
|
|
Article 12 (8) |
— |
|
|
Article 12 (9) |
Article 32 (1), second part of point (a) |
|
Article 13 |
Article 13 |
Article 33 |
|
Article 14 |
|
Article 19 |
|
Article 15 |
Article 14 |
Article 34 |
|
|
Article 15 |
Article 36 |
|
Article 16 |
|
Article 37, second sentence |
|
Article 17 |
Article 16 |
Article 38 |
( 1 ) Decision No 1082/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on serious cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 2119/98/EC (OJ L 293, 5.11.2013, p. 1).
( 2 ) Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013 and (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU (OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 69).
( 3 ) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1).
( 4 ) OJ C 25, 30.1.2008, p. 1.
( 5 ) Council Regulation (EU) 2020/2094 of 14 December 2020 establishing a European Union Recovery Instrument to support the recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis (OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 23).
( 6 ) Regulation (EU) 2021/836 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 amending Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 185, 26.5.2021, p. 1).
( 7 ) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1).
( 8 ) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999, (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1).