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Civil Protection - Performance

Union Civil Protection Mechanism

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements

232
requests for assistance
were received and processed by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre, which responded to 222 requests.
23
prevention and preparedness projects
inside the EU – along with two regional programmes on prevention, preparedness and response outside of the EU and one peer review – were financed via the mechanism in 2022.
80 000
tonnes of life-saving assistance
were deployed under the mechanism to Ukraine in 2022.
35
EU civil protection teams,
composed of 111 experts from Member States and participating states and 21 Emergency Response Coordination Centre liaison officers, have been deployed to disaster scenes and crisis situations.
298
experts
attended 15 exchanges hosted by 10 civil protection authorities under the EU civil protection knowledge network in 2022.
50
training courses
took place with almost 1 000 places offered to experts at the introduction, operational and management levels. In addition, 14 online modules were maintained as part of the training offer, while 13 module exercises and four full-scale exercises were organised in 2022.
124
response capacities
were committed to the European Civil Protection Pool by the end of 2022, of which 86 were available for immediate deployment.
37
shipments of life-saving assistance from RescEU, the Commission’s strategic reserve of emergency response capacities,
were mobilised by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre.

Budget for 2021-2027

Rationale and design of the programme

The mechanism aims to strengthen the cooperation between the EU and the Member States in assisting in natural, man-made and health emergencies by improving the prevention, preparedness and response capacity of key actors. This cooperation has become ever more important in recent years, as climate-related disasters are expected to grow in severity.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

  2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Total
Financial programming 182.6 354.3 188.0 230.3 203.3 167.7 180.0 1 506.2
NextGenerationEU 129.1 733.1 1 187.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.6 2 059.5
Decommitments made available again (*)               N/A
Contributions from other countries and entities 20.6 22.5 p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. 43.0
Total 335.3 1 110.0 1 375.4 232.7 205.8 170.2 182.6 3 611.9

(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.

 

Increase Heading 2

Financial programming:
+ EUR 243.3 million (+ 19%)
compared to the legal basis*

(*) Top-ups pursuant to Article 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.

 

  • In 2021, the war in Afghanistan triggered a budgetary reinforcement of EUR 57.8 million to allow for repatriation operations to take place.
  • In 2022, the mechanism benefitted from a EUR 6 million reinforcement in the conciliation of the 2022 budget. Moreover, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the forest fires triggered budgetary reinforcement transfers from the EURI, ESF and SEAR instruments for a total of EUR 114.5 million, and though an amending budget for an amount of EUR 38 million. These amounts combined with EUR 100.6 million frontloads within the multiannual financial framework profile add-up to EUR 354.3 of allocated budget. This amount along with EUR 22.8 million, total the EUR 377.1 million of initial allocation of the MFF strand allocated to the UCPM in 2022.
  • In 2023, a further reinforcement of EUR 27 million was voted through the Amending Letter 1 of the 2023 draft budget.
  • Between 2021 and 2023, a total of EUR 194.6 million has also been provided as frontloads within the multiannual financial framework profile (comprising EUR 100.6 million frontload for 2022). These frontloads obtained in the beginning of the programming period will de facto reduce the mechanism yearly budgets during the second half of the multiannual financial framework.

 

Budget performance – implementation

Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):

  Implementation 2021-2027 Budget Implementation rate
Commitments 1 441.9 3 605.4 40%
Payments 503.7   14.0%

 

Annual voted budget implementation (million EUR) (1):

  Commitments Payments
  Voted budget implementation Initial voted budget Voted budget implementation Initial voted budget
2021 182.6 90.2 38.0 25.6
2022 354.1 101.3 140.3 100.5

(1) Voted appropriations (C1) only.

Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

  Implementation Estimates Total contribution % of the 2021–2027 budget
  2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027    
Climate mainstreaming 82.0 261.0 0 0 0 0 0 343.1 10%
Biodiversity mainstreaming 43.1 30.3 0 0 0 0 0 73.4 2.1%
Clean air 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 

  • The mechanism will continue contributing to the overall Commission objective of climate mainstreaming through its activities. A key achievement over the past years has been the creation of the dedicated reserve of rescEU capacities in the area of forest firefighting through the rescEU transition phase, resulting in an additional capacity of 15 capacities to support Member States in forest firefighting activities. This additional support aims to reduce the devastation caused by wildfires – including increased CO2 emissions – and is considered a key climate-related achievement.
  • On climate action, in February 2022 the Commission initiated, following a Council recommendation, a study to investigate how the mechanism can green its operations and how it can support Member States in their own greening and sustainability efforts for their civil protection operations. Also in 2022, the Commission, along with the Member States, developed the disaster resilience goals to steer their work in disaster prevention and preparedness. The goals will, among other points, enforce linkages with resilience efforts in other areas, such as in security, environment and climate change.
  • For the work of DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, only the response to forest fires should be considered (at a level of 40%) as contributing to biodiversity mainstreaming. The Commission’s measures on civil protection also contribute to biodiversity mainstreaming through the firefighting actions. In 2022, the Commission reinforced its resources under the mechanism by EUR 275 million, to address disasters and enhance preparedness to respond to wildfires.
  • In the framework of the latest legislative revision, and following the provisional agreement reached in February 2021 by the co-legislators, revised Decision No 1313/2013/EU should contribute to the overall EU ambition on biodiversity (i.e. 7.5% of the EU budget expenditure on biodiversity in 2024 and 10% in 2026 and 2027). When implementing the decision, the mainstreaming of biodiversity action in EU policies shall be duly taken into account to the extent that the unpredictability and specific circumstances of disaster preparedness and response so allow.

 

Gender

Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):

Gender score 2021 2022 Total
0* 182.6 354.1 536.7

(*) Based on the applied gender contribution methodology, the following scores are attributed at the most granular level of intervention possible:
- 2: interventions the principal objective of which is to improve gender equality;
- 1: interventions that have gender equality as an important and deliberate objective but not as the main reason for the intervention;
- 0: non-targeted interventions (interventions that are expected to have no significant bearing on gender equality);

- 0*: score to be assigned to interventions with a likely but not yet clear positive impact on gender equality.

 

  • DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations commits to gender-sensitive civil protection, including addressing specific vulnerabilities and exchange on the issue of support to victims of gender-based violence during disasters. The DG prompts gender equality through the disaster risk cycle and raises awareness of the principles of non-discrimination and inclusiveness. The DG also promotes a gender-inclusive approach in response activities and ensures that the gender component is considered. Therefore, the EUR 727.5 million allocated initially to the mechanism budget have been marked in the 0* category.
  • Within the framework of the third phase of the regional programme for prevention, preparedness and response to natural and man-made disasters in the Eastern Neighbourhood, specific guidelines (in English and Russian) for the inclusion of gender equality have been developed in order to ensure gender mainstreaming throughout the project implementation. This covers areas such as training and exercises, multi-risk assessments, early warning systems, public awareness, volunteerism and host nation support.
  • The programme has a EUR 6 000 000 budget and will operate until 2024. Gender mainstreaming is a cross-cutting theme that is integrated in all of the programme activities, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which pays particular attention to all-of-society engagement.

 

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

  2021 2022 Total % of the total 2021-2027 implementation
Digital contribution 0 0 0 0

 

Budget performance – outcomes

Performance in the internal dimension.

  • In the area of prevention, the mechanism continues to be instrumental in fostering an EU-wide culture of prevention. Member States have generally become more aware of the need to strengthen prevention policies and have undertaken reforms in their national civil protection structures to emphasise the role of prevention. In this respect, the 2020 EuroBarometer survey reveals a positive trend between 2015 and 2020.
  • The prevention strand also includes fostering cooperation and coordination of activities at the cross-border level. In 2022, the mechanism funded ten projects implemented by partners from 16 Member States and participating states focusing on the development of cross-border risk assessments, improved regional and cross-sectoral coordination and preparation for marine pollution accidents. Moreover 26 out of 27 Member States provided the Commission with a summary of risk assessments and an assessment of risk management capability. 
  • Moreover, under the umbrella of the EU civil protection knowledge network, the mechanism continued to enhance the level of preparedness of emergency response operations managed by DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. In 2022, along with the mechanism’s training and lessons learned programmes, a range of exercises and exchanges of civil protection experts took place. The knowledge network fostered the building of partnership and knowledge-sharing through projects, communication outreach and events, including a dedicated 2-day seminar entitled ‘Youth in Civil Protection and Disaster Risk Management’, organised in the framework of the European Year of Youth.
  • In the area of preparedness, the trend clearly shows the growing importance of the mechanism among Member States when it comes to disaster preparedness. The number and diversity of registered capacities in the European Civil Protection Pool is the highest ever, reaching in certain areas the maximum required at the EU level. The concrete implementation of the revised mechanism legislation has strengthened the preparedness component of the mechanism through enhanced financing for the European Civil Protection Pool and the progressive and rapid development of rescEU capacities in various areas, complementing national capacities. In line with the latest revision of the mechanism legislation, DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, along with Member State experts, developed EU disaster resilience goals to steer disaster prevention and preparedness work. The goals will also reinforce linkages with resilience efforts in other areas, such as security, the environment and climate change. Every year, a sophisticated training and exercise programme provides experts and capacities with the required competences to improve their response to disasters through enhanced coordination, compatibility and complementarity.
  • The Commission is financing cross-border projects with the aim of strengthening prevention and preparedness in Member States and participating states. In 2022, DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations selected 10 cross-border prevention and preparedness projects and 13 projects providing financial support to national disaster risk management authorities for the development of strategic activities for prevention and preparedness.
  • Concerning the response strand, the year 2022 was largely marked by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which triggered the largest, longest and most complex response operation in the history of the mechanism. The mechanism was activated 126 times in 2022, and responded to 222 requests of assistance, mainly in relation to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, facilitating the delivery of different and a wide diversity of items such as medical equipment, CBRN, energy supplies, etc. Regarding forest fire response, the EU and its Member States advanced in the negotiations for the procurement of a full-fledged aerial firefighting fleet at the European level. Moreover, the Commission developed a wildfire prevention action plan aimed at bringing together tools available under the mechanism to support Member States in preventing the occurrence of wildfires in Europe.

Performance in the external dimension.

  • The focus stayed on strengthening cooperation with the immediate neighbourhood, notably with the beneficiary countries of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (particularly Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo ([1]) and Türkiye) as well as the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhoods, where new phases of regional programmes in the western Balkans and the Eastern Neighbourhood were launched or are in preparation. The dialogue with the Union for the Mediterranean continued to build on the positive exchanges from recent years, delivering concrete results in the form of specific workshops around various areas related to disaster management, such as working groups on volunteers and engaging citizens or workshops on the future of cooperation in the Mediterranean area.
  • The mechanism replied positively to 96% of requests for assistance from outside of Europe. The 106 requests for assistance from Ukraine constitute the largest part (around 60%) of the mechanism’s action outside of the EU in 2022, delivering around 80 000 tonnes of life-saving assistance. On top of that, the mechanism continued to respond to emergency situations and urgent gaps in non-EU countries in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (44 requests). Natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, cyclones, floods, disease outbreaks and industrial accidents or explosions, constituted 9% of the mechanism’s activities in 2022 and were predominantly related to countries in Africa, Latin and South America and Asia.
  • Emphasis was also placed on continuing the financing of prevention and preparedness projects in non-EU countries with a cross-border dimension. Such initiatives have been instrumental in promoting cooperation at the technical level, developing networks and promoting the building of capacity. There were continuing efforts to increase the availability and use of scientific knowledge on disasters, to expand available data to strengthen the early warning and information systems for natural disasters (e.g. droughts, floods, forest fires, tropical cyclones or severe weather) and to make extensive use of the services and information provided via the Copernicus programme.
  • Concerning response, given the increasingly unpredictable nature of disasters within and outside of the EU’s borders, the mechanism is activated increasingly often. An activation of the mechanism and the offer of rapid support contributes to showcasing EU solidarity with non-EU countries in times of crisis. Non-EU countries account for around two thirds of the mechanism activations, which demonstrates its international relevance and the capacity and readiness of the Member States to send assistance and expertise to non-EU countries in need.

Areas for improvement.

  • The large-scale and unforeseen nature of Russia’s war against Ukraine put the mechanism to the test and revealed some areas for possible improvements. In this context, the amount and types of assistance requested through the mechanism broke all records in 2022, mainly due to the high number of emergencies both inside and outside Europe, their long duration as well the complexity of the emergency environment. This entailed coordination and mobilisation of public authorities and private entities across many different sectors, which naturally required more time. As a result, the average response time increased in general from 8 to 37 hours for assistance between Member States, and from 68 to 142 hours for activations outside Europe.
  • At the beginning of the war, a new form of cooperation with the private sector was established under rescEU, namely in-kind private donations. This cooperation between the private sector and the mechanism could be further strengthened in the coming years. Moreover, the provision of prevention-related information and the certification of European Civil Protection Pool capacities were nearly brought to a standstill, while many planned communication actions had to be revised or postponed. Finally, the Commission will assess its actions in order to ensure a better balance between preparedness and response actions under the mechanism.

(1) This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

MFF 2014-2020 – Union Civil Protection Mechanism

The goal of the mechanism is to support, coordinate and supplement the actions in the field of civil protection, with a view to improving the effectiveness of systems for preventing, preparing for and responding to natural and man-made disasters. It facilitates disaster response cooperation among 33 European states (the Member States, Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Türkiye). The framework also applied to the United Kingdom during the transitional period that ended on 31 December 2020. The United Kingdom does not currently participate in the mechanism.

 

Budget implementation

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2021 (million EUR):

  Implementation 2014-2020 Budget Implementation rate
Internal dimension
(heading 3):
Commitments 729.0 766.5 95.1%
Payments 513.8   67.03%
External dimension
(heading 4):
Commitments 155.6 157.7 98.69%
Payments 131.8   83.62%

Performance assessment

  • Programme projects that started under the previous multiannual financial framework (2014-2020) continued in the same conditions under the current framework (2021-2027). For information on the performance of the previous programme, please refer to the active programme performance section above.
  • The performance indicators that are closely linked to the remaining funds of the previous multiannual financial framework relate to the indicator on ‘average response time to a request’. Targets were met during the previous multiannual financial framework, while in recent years performance was affected by recent crises that increased the workload of the programme mechanisms and made response to requests more complex.

Sustainable development goals

Contribution to the sustainable development goals

SDGs the programme contributes to Example
SDG11
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
The programme continued to promote a better understanding of disaster risks and engaged in the analysis of the latest summaries of risk assessments and capability assessments submitted by Member States and participating states. The first progress report on disaster risk management under the prevention pillar of mechanism (Article 6 report) based on this analysis will be published in 2023. The Commission further pursued mainstreaming disaster risk reduction across EU policies, with a special focus on mobilising long-term investments in disaster risk management from cohesion, agricultural and research policy funding and linking with the EU climate and environmental policies.
SDG13
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
In 2022, the programme also contributed to a number of actions to implement the EU Forest 2030 strategy Adaptation and sustainable finance, as well as the Renovation Wave and Zero Pollution action plans. The programme notably supported to the development of a harmonised EU monitoring system of forest fires and contributed to the Adaptation Strategy through improved collection of data on climate-related losses, improving the understanding of the economics of disaster prevention, preparedness and the cost of adaptation.

Archived versions from previous years

Civil Protection PPS