European Union s Programme on Civil Protection Cooperation with the Candidate Countries and Potential Candidates

Transcription

1 European Union s Programme on Civil Protection Cooperation with the Candidate Countries and Potential Candidates

2 Published by: Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief. Text and photographs by: Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, Austrian Red Cross, Danish Emergency Management Agency, German Federal Agency for Technical Relief, Human Dynamics, National Protection and Rescue Directorate of the Republic of Croatia and Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. September 2011

3 CONTENT 1. INTRODUCTION EUROPEAN UNION S COOPERATION WITH THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES AND POTENTIAL CANDIDATES IN THE FIELD OF CIVIL PROTECTION 2 2. EUROPEAN UNION PROCESS OF ENLARGEMENT 3 3. EUROPEAN UNION COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF CIVIL PROTECTION 4 4. EUROPEAN UNION S PROGRAMME ON CIVIL PROTECTION COOPERATION WITH THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES AND POTENTIAL CANDIDATES 6 Lot 1: Training programme for civil protection experts with exchange of experts component 7 Lot 2: Two regional table-top and field exercises and participation in the Community Civil Protection Mechanism exercises 9 Lot 3: Workshops on key identified topics 11 1

4 1 INTRODUCTION EUROPEAN UNION S COOPERATION WITH THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES AND POTENTIAL CANDIDATES IN THE FIELD OF CIVIL PROTECTION The growing impact of natural and man-made disasters on individuals, communities and the economy calls for more coherent and effective measures in building resilience to disasters. Recent wildfires and floods in South Eastern Europe reiterate a need for further development of national disaster management systems and enhanced bilateral, regional and international cooperation. The Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99) and Turkey are EU s immediate neighbours and have a clear European perspective. The countries are also prone to natural and other disasters that may overwhelm their response capacities, therefore closer integration and gradual association of these countries with the EU civil protection instruments is of mutual interest and should be strengthened. The candidate countries and potential candidates for the membership of the European Union can co-operate with the EU in specific fields before their full membership; this also includes civil protection with its humanitarian mission, making both regional cooperation and the EU perspective more tangible for the citizens. A significant progress in terms of cooperation with the Western Balkans and Turkey, which was strongly supported by all EU Member States, was made in 2008 during the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council. The EU Council Conclusions on cooperation with the candidate countries and potential candidates of the Western Balkans in the field of Civil Protection were adopted, serving as a basis for the development of a comprehensive programme by the European Commission in this field. Picture 1: At the joint meeting (Ljubljana, 19 May 2008) with the Directors-General for civil protection of the candidate countries and potential candidates of the Western Balkans and Turkey, the Directors-General of the European Union Member States and of the European Economic Area countries laid down the foundations for enhanced cooperation in the field of civil protection. (photo: Foto Fantasy) 1 Council of the European Union 2873rd Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting, 5 and 6 June 2008, available at: 2 Iceland also holds a status of a candidate country for the membership in the European Union, however it is not participating in the European Union s Programme on Civil Protection Cooperation with the Candidate Countries and Potential Candidates, since the geographic scope of the Programme covers the candidate countries and potential candidate countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey. 2

5 2 EUROPEAN UNION PROCESS OF ENLARGEMENT The enlargement is one of the most powerful tools of the EU for strengthening stability and security in the region. Any European country which respects the principles of liberty, democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law may apply for EU membership. The current enlargement strategy encompasses Western Balkan countries, Turkey and Iceland. Croatia, Iceland, Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey are candidate countries. The other countries of the Western Balkans Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99 are known as potential candidates. More information: Candidates Potential candidates Picture 2: The candidate and potential candidate countries for the EU membership of the Western Balkans and Turkey. (source: map from the web) The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) The EU has at its disposal specific financial means for necessary political, economic and institutional reforms in accordance with the EU standards in the candidate countries and potential candidates. The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) is the financial instrument for the EU pre-accession process for the period Assistance is provided on the basis of European Partnerships of the potential candidates and Accession Partnerships of the candidate countries. The IPA was designed to address the needs of the partner countries within the context of pre-accession policy. Its main aim is to support institution-building and the rule of law, human rights, including the fundamental freedoms, minority rights, gender equality and nondiscrimination, both administrative and economic reforms, economic and social development, reconciliation and reconstruction, and regional and cross-border cooperation. If identified as priority by partner countries, projects in the field of civil protection and disaster risk reduction can also be financed within the framework of the IPA bilateral or multi beneficiary programmes. More information is available at: 3

6 3 EUROPEAN UNION COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF CIVIL PROTECTION The purpose of EU cooperation in the field of civil protection is to provide better protection for people, their environment, property and cultural heritage in the event of major natural or manmade disasters occurring both within and outside the Union. The aim of the EU civil protection activities is not to unify different national systems, however to support and supplements efforts at national, regional and local levels with regard to disaster prevention, preparedness of those responsible for civil protection and the intervention in the event of disaster. Community Civil Protection Mechanism The most important tool in the field of civil protection on the European level is the Community Mechanism for Civil Protection (the Mechanism ), whose main role is to facilitate co-operation in civil protection assistance interventions in the event of major emergencies that may require urgent response actions. This also applies to situations where an imminent threat of such major emergencies may be present. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, it can provide added-value to European civil protection assistance by making support available on request by affected countries (EU Member State or any other third country). The Mechanism includes 31 Participating States: 27 EU Member States, 3 EEA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, as well as Croatia as a candidate country that has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Commission. The Mechanism s tools The Mechanism has a number of tools intended to facilitate both adequate preparedness as well as effective response to disasters at the European level. The Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) is the operational heart of the Mechanism. It is operated by the Directorate General Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG ECHO) of the European Commission and accessible 24 hours a day. Any country within or outside the Union affected by a major disaster can make an appeal for assistance through the MIC. It acts as a communication hub at headquarters level between participating states, the affected country and dispatched field experts. It also provides useful and updated information on the actual status of an ongoing emergency. Last but not least, the MIC plays a co-ordination role by matching offers of assistance put forward by the Participating States to the needs of the disaster-stricken country. 4 Council Decision 2007/779/EC, Euratom establishing a Community Civil Protection Mechanism (recast), available at: 4

7 The Common Emergency and Information System (CECIS) is a secured web-based alert and notification application created with the intention of facilitating emergency communication among the participating states. It provides an integrated platform to send and receive alerts, details of assistance required, to make offers of help and to view the development of the ongoing emergency as they happen in an online logbook. A Training Programme has also been set up with a view to improving the co-ordination of civil protection assistance interventions by ensuring compatibility and complementarity between the intervention teams from the Participating States. It also enhances the skills of experts involved in civil protection assistance operations through sharing of best practices. This programme involves training courses, the organisation of joint exercises and a system of exchange of experts of the Participating States. Civil protection modules are composed of national resources from one or more Member States on a voluntary basis. The modules consist of pre-defined specific assistance capabilities that can be dispatched at short notice (generally within 12 hours), work self-sufficiently and autonomously and are interoperable with other modules. More than 120 modules of 17 different types are registered in the CECIS. Financial Instrument The Civil Protection Financial Instrument provides the financial means for all activities in the field of prevention and preparedness and finances the activities within the Mechanism. More information is available at: civil/index.htm Picture 3: EU Civil Protection Team on a mission. (photo: archives EC) 4 Council Decision establishing a Civil Protection Financial Instrument (2007/162/EC, Euratom) available at 5

8 4 EUROPEAN UNION S PROGRAMME ON CIVIL PROTECTION COOPERATION WITH THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES AND POTENTIAL CANDIDATES A comprehensive Programme on Strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Civil Protection with the Candidate Countries and Potential Candidates (the Programme ) of the Western Balkans and Turkey was developed in 2010 by the European Commission and is financed through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. Duration of the Programme: December November Beneficiaries or partner countries (hereinafter the Partner Countries ): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99 and Turkey. 5 Overall objective: The Programme is one of the steps to pave the way of the candidate countries and potential candidates towards the EU in the field of civil protection, with the overall objective to reduce the vulnerability of those countries to natural and man-made disasters at local, national and regional levels. It encompasses activities aiming at increasing synergies and complementarities among EU instruments, and regional and national efforts that can be mobilised to deal with a variety of disasters in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Aims/Purposes of the Programme: The aim of the Programme is twofold: To contribute to further development of the Partner Countries civil protection capacities To support the Partner Countries gradual participation and cooperation in the EU civil protection instruments, in particular in the Mechanism. Civil protection organisations of the Partner Countries shall become better informed and more effective actors in using approaches and methods established in the Mechanism Participating States; they shall be able to effectively collaborate with the EU partners in responding to disasters, including through close cooperation with the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC). The final goal of the Programme and cooperation shall be the full integration of the Partner Countries in the Mechanism once the conditions are met. The Programme is focused on preparedness actions by supporting administrative structures, operational capacities and civil society in the Partner Countries, widening the networks of various stakeholders in the region and among EU Member States. A network of Partner Countries National Correspondents (NC) was created upon reliance on the Mechanism Participating States Permanent Network of National Correspondents. NCs are the first contact point and permanent and active partners in the implementation of the Programme. In addition, a network of National Training Coordinators (NTC) was also set-up, similar to that existing in the Mechanism Participating States. NTCs play a very important role in the Partner Countries experts nomination process for all activities developed within the Programme. Main areas of the Programme are: training courses, exchange of experts, exercises and workshops with exchange of good practices in a number of identified topics. The Programme encompasses three correlated groups of activities and has been divided into three lots. 5 As already mentioned in reference no. 1, Iceland does not participate in this Programme. 6

9 LOT 1: TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR CIVIL PROTECTION EXPERTS WITH EXCHANGE OF EXPERTS COMPONENT The training programme The training programme provides civil protection practitioners of the Partner Countries with the opportunity to attend a 3-level core progression programme which includes the Basic Training Course (BAT), the Operational Management Training Course (OMT) and the Advanced Training Course (ADT). Basic Training Course (BAT) is a six day entry level course for up to 20 participants per session, with a total of 8 sessions to be delivered. This course introduces the participants to the Community Civil Protection Mechanism (hereinafter Mechanism) and raises awareness of the international intervention assistance context and issues. This tactical level course includes two main modules: receipt of international assistance (Host Nation Support within an international disaster management framework) and providing assistance to support an affected country / requesting state (within an international disaster management framework). Each of the two modules includes theoretical and practical input as well as a small practical exercise. cooperate with an On-Site Operations Coordination Centre (OSOCC) both as recipients of international assistance and as national experts in internationally deployed intervention teams. It also aims to prepare experts for the role of National Liaison Officers in relation to the Mechanism. The course comprises both theoretical and practical inputs and will include a minor practical exercise on each main component. Advanced Training Course (ADT) is a fiveday course aiming to prepare a number of up to 16 participants per session to ultimately be sent by the European Commission to facilitate coordination of assistance in emergencies. Two sessions of ADT will be delivered. The course is targeted at high-level technical experts from the Partner Countries and aims to prepare the participants to be sent by the European Commission on future civil protection intervention team responses, which requires working knowledge of written and spoken English language by all participants. The course will have both theoretical and practical input and will be completed by a practical exercise. Operational Management Training Course (OMT) is a six-day course at operational level for up to 20 participants per session, with a total of 4 sessions to be delivered. This course is designed to prepare Partner Countries civil protection experts to 7

10 Exchange of experts The exchange of experts component provides the practitioners of the Partner Countries the opportunity to visit civil protection services of other partners as well as of the Participating States of the Mechanism. Within this framework, the participating experts may learn different techniques and observe the operational structures of the host country and host organisation, grouped into a number of pre-defined main areas of interest. Groups of up to five experts can participate within this exchange component. The length of the exchange may vary from a minimum of five days to up to two weeks. It is possible to visit either a specific centre or several places in one or several countries. The participants to this component should come from the operational or scientific institutions having a recognised role within the civil protection system of the Partner Countries. Activities of Lot 1 are implemented by a Consortium composed of: Human Dynamics - a public sector consulting firm Austrian Red Cross Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA). Picture 4: Participants at the Basic Training Course (photo: Human Dynamics) 8

11 LOT 2: TWO REGIONAL TABLE-TOP AND FIELD EXERCISES AND PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMUNITY CIVIL PROTECTION MECHANISM EXERCISES Regional Exercises The Civil Protection Exercise Programme provides the partner countries the opportunity to participate in two regional exercises with realist scenarios of disasters likely to occur in the region. Civil protection intervention teams from the partner countries will have an opportunity to practice work in an international rescue operation within the Community Civil Protection Mechanism (the Mechanism). The aim of the exercises is to strengthen intervention capacity of the partner countries, including alerting, mobilizing and dispatching their civil protection intervention teams according to the Mechanism approach and methods, including through close cooperation with the Monitoring and Information Centre. The first regional field exercise with an earthquake scenario (»IPA SI-QUAKE 2011«) will be organised in Slovenia in October 2011, and the second field exercise with floods scenario (»IPA CRO-FLOODS 2012«) will be held in Croatia in May Each field exercise is preceded by a table-top exercise. IPA SI-QUAKE 2011 Scenario: earthquake, mass casualty Table-top Exercise, Slovenia, June 2011 Field Exercise, Slovenia, October 2011 IPA CRO - FLOODS 2012 Scenario: floods, water rescue Table-top Exercise, Croatia, February 2012 Field Exercise, Croatia, May

12 Table-top Exercises The main goal of table-top exercises is to prepare team management (team leader, deputy team leader or liaison officer) of the partner countries teams for the participation in the field exercise. At the table-top exercise the participants from the partner countries will be familiarized with the Mechanism and its tools, and will exercise requesting international assistance and preparing offers for assistance according to the Mechanism methodology. Regional Field Exercises Main characteristcs of regional exercises are: three full days exercise, including one night, with realistic scenario and different sites; participation of teams (at least 20 members per team) with equipment from each partner country; the Mechanism is activated and the EU Civil Protection team deployed. Observers and visitors programme is organised, external evaluators assess the performance of the teams and overall organisation of the exercise. Two field exercises provide for optimum exercise possibilities for the Partner Countries. The organisers also facilitate preparation of the partner countries civil protection intervention teams before the exercise. Participation in the Mechanism Exercises The partner countries also have the possibility to participate in the Mechanism exercises, according to the possibilities provided by the organisers. The participation could range from the deployment of whole teams to the participation of single observers. The activities are implemented by a Consortium composed of four national civil protection organisations: Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (ACPDR) German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) National Protection and Rescue Directorate of the Republic of Croatia (DUZS) Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB). Picture 5: Slovenian USAR team at the EU TEREX exercise 2010 (photo: archives ACPDR) 10

13 LOT 3: WORKSHOPS ON KEY IDENTIFIED TOPICS Lot 3 creates a framework for the exchange of good practice between the partner countries and Mechanism Participating States. Thus 12 workshops on key-identified topics of civil protection cooperation are prepared, organized and evaluated. The workshops address six themes and their target group consists of toplevel managers, decision makers, key national contact point staff, senior staff and experts from both the Partner Countries and the Mechanism Participating States. The envisaged topics and outcomes are: Community Civil Protection Mechanism (the Mechanism) Raising the level of awareness and knowledge about the Mechanism and promoting the added-value of the Mechanism Understanding the Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) of activation and operations of the Mechanism (when, how, who, etc., how to work with the MIC, etc.) Understanding the kind of assistance that can be provided and received through the Mechanism Understanding the most efficient way of drafting a request for assistance Host Nation Support (HNS) Achieving a greater understanding of expectations placed on the Host Country and promoting the need to develop HNS arrangements both internally and with neighbouring countries Promoting the EU guidelines on HNS when ready Encouraging further steps of the Partner Countries towards a better facilitation of incoming international assistance; identify the level of preparation of Partner Countries, the gaps and possible future roadmap 112 Systems Cohesive approach across all emergency services; understanding of the added value of Centralised Monitoring/Command and Control (C&C) of emergency incidents Understanding the benefits and the need for a non-discriminative response capability A positive approach towards a multilanguage-call-taking in C&C centres Awareness of the importance of the single European emergency number for European citizens and for the safety of tourists; promoting 112 to citizens including travellers Early Warning Systems (EWS) Raising awareness of existing and alternative Early Warning (EW) tools and systems Matching the need for appropriate EWS with identified risk Introducing the potential for a shared regional EW capability Improving the opportunity for improved coordination/cooperation at all levels Promote / raise awareness about the EU risk assessment guidelines civil/prevention_risk_assessment.htm 11

14 Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Creating awareness of available funding opportunities (in particular for civil protection initiatives and projects) and their added-value Helping to tailor national strategies to include civil protection as priority area in IPA activities Providing opportunity to share good practices across the partner and of former candidate countries (EU-10 and EU-2) Lessons learnt Promotion of the need for an After Action Review (AAR) process Understanding the added-value of the Lessons Learnt culture in the Contingency Plan and Standard Operation Procedures review processes Effective review processes ensure the very latest procedures and good practice which in turn promotes safer working environments for all response personnel Introducing an effective process for the review of previous incidents Providing a platform for sharing good practices from the Mechanism operations Activities of Lot 3 are implemented by a Consortium composed of: Human Dynamics - a public sector consulting firm Austrian Red Cross Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA). Picture 6: Teamwork at EU Exercise (photo: archives MSB) 12

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16 EUROPEAN UNION S PROGRAMME ON CIVIL PROTECTION COOPERATION WITH THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES AND POTENTIAL CANDIDATES Web-page: CONTACT INFORMATION Lot 1 (trainings, exchange of experts) and Lot 3 (workshops) Contact: Silviu Calciu, Project Director, Human Dynamics (silviu.calciu@humandynamics.org) Lot 2 (regional field and table-top exercises) Contact: Domen Torkar, Team Leader Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (domen.torkar@urszr.si)