Civil Protection - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements

Budget for 2021-2027

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Rationale and design of the programme

The Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) 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):

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Financial programming:
+ EUR 318.3 million (+ 25%)
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 benefited from a EUR 6 million increase 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 an allocated budget of EUR 354.3 million. This amount, along with EUR 22.8 million, total the EUR 377.1 million of initial allocation of the multiannual financial framework strand allocated to the UCPM in 2022. 
• In 2023, a reinforcement of EUR 27 million was voted through the Amending Letter 1 of the 2023 draft budget for doubling the rescEU aerial firefighting (AFF) fleet during the 2024 fire season. A further frontload of EUR 59.4 million within the multiannual financial framework profile allowed for the signature of the last grant contracts with two member states for the acquisition of AFF capacities. Last but not least, a budgetary reinforcement of EUR 65 million was obtained from the SEAR to respond to the devastating earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, as well as the evacuation of EU citizens from Sudan, and the fight against forest fires. Between 2021 and 2023, a total of EUR 194.6 million was provided as frontloads within the multiannual financial framework profile. 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

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2023 (million EUR):

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Voted budget implementation (million EUR) ⁽¹⁾:

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Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

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• The mechanism will continue contributing to the overall Commission objective of climate mainstreaming through its various activities. A key achievement over the past several 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 15 additional capacities to support Member States in forest firefighting activities. This additional support aims to reduce the devastation caused by wildfires – including increased carbon dioxide emissions – and is considered a key climate-related achievement. 
• On climate action, further to an invitation from the Council of the European Union to make civil protection operations greener and more sustainable, recommendations from a Commission-initiated study investigating how the UCPM can green its operations and how it can support Member States in their own greening efforts were presented in February 2023. Building on this, DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) presented to the Council, on 24 May 2023, a four-point plan of action: the further development of a strategy and action plan; the development of a monitoring and evaluation framework; the identification of climate-related complementary funding sources; and capacity building (e.g. via the Knowledge Network and the lessons learnt programme). DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) entered into a contract with a consultancy in September 2023 to further develop the content of the action plan by April 2024. 
• For the work of DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), 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 2023, the Commission allocated EUR 37 million from the budget of the programme to address the forest-fire season. Concerning aerial firefighting capacities, the priority for 2023 was to secure a consensus on the text of the relevant agreement with the manufacturer of medium-sized amphibious assets. Significant advancements were made in the negotiations and in the development of the fully fledged European aerial firefighting fleet. In parallel, the focus was put on strengthening the rescEU transition arrangement in the light of the increasing wildfire threat across the EU with the doubling of the rescEU transition fleet, notably through the leasing of additional light planes and helicopters to also serve central Europe. 
• Within the framework of the latest legislative revision, and following the provisional agreement reached in February 2021 by the Parliament and the Council, revised Decision No 1313/2013/EU should contribute to the overall EU ambition on biodiversity (i.e. 7.5% of 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 will be duly taken into account to the extent that the unpredictability and specific circumstances of disaster preparedness and response allow. 

Gender

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

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• DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) commits to gender-sensitive civil protection, including addressing specific vulnerabilities and exchanging information on the issue of support for victims of gender-based violence during disasters. The directorate-general promotes gender equality through the disaster risk cycle and raises awareness of the principles of non-discrimination and inclusiveness. It also promotes a gender-inclusive approach in response activities and ensures that the gender component is considered. The voted budget implementations committed to the mechanism, amounting in 2023 to EUR 252.9 million, have been marked as being in the 0* category. This mark will be reviewed at the end of the multiannual financial framework cycle in order to categorise funds under scores of either 0 or 1. 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 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 budget of EUR 6 million and will operate until the end of 2024. Gender mainstreaming is a cross-cutting theme that is integrated into all programme activities in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which pays particular attention to all-of-society engagement. 
• In the context of the training and exercises programme further refined under the umbrella of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network, online course modules are available on various disaster management topics and in different languages, such as ‘Cultural sensitivity and gender’. 

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

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The objective of the programme is to promote solidarity in face of disasters. It therefore does not contribute to the digital horizontal priority.

Budget performance – outcomes

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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 2023 Eurobarometer Survey reveals a positive trend between 2020 and 2023 as the proportion of citizens aware of the risks in their region increased from 64% in 2020 to 67% in 2023. 
• The prevention strand also includes fostering cooperation and the coordination of activities at the cross-border level. In 2023, the mechanism funded 10 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 of the 27 Member States provided the Commission with a summary of risk assessments and an assessment of risk management capability. The result has not changed from previous years because of delays in the preparation of summaries due to COVID-19 and onset disasters in recent years. A derogation was provided and the whole batch of summaries was published in March 2024. 
• 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 (ECHO). In 2023, the training and exercises programme was further refined under the umbrella of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network. It enhances the individual competences of experts and key personnel, along with the coordination and interoperability of modules, technical assistance support teams, other response capacities and experts with other actors involved during an international deployment. In 2023, 18 training courses took place, with almost 320 course places offered to experts at the introduction, operational and management levels. In addition, a number of online modules are available on various disaster management topics. The training offer was supplemented by 16 module exercises and five full-scale exercises. Sixty-eight experts attended 15 exchanges hosted by civil protection authorities from across Europe. 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 it has ever been (83 compared to a target of 60 annually), in some areas reaching the maximum required at the EU level. The full implementation of the revised UCPM 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 (ECHO), along with Member State experts, have developed EU disaster resilience goals to steer disaster prevention and preparedness work. The Commission recommendation and accompanying communication on the disaster resilience goals was adopted in February 2023 and sets out five strategic areas where Member States and the Commission need to work together in order to strengthen the collective capacity to withstand future disasters, to protect citizens and to safeguard both livelihoods and the environment. Moreover, work advanced on the flagship initiatives for the disaster resilience goals, such as setting out European-wide disaster scenarios, doubling the rescEU transitional aerial firefighting during the 2023 summer season and completing the first internal version of a multi-hazard dashboard. 
• The Commission is financing cross-border projects with the aim of strengthening prevention and preparedness in Member States and participating states. In 2023, DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) selected 29 prevention and preparedness projects, including cross-border projects and support for national disaster risk management authorities, with the aim of strengthening prevention and preparedness in EU Member States and UCPM participating states. One peer review on disaster risk management was conducted in Moldova, providing an opportunity to identify areas for improvement and highlight good practices. In May 2023, a specific peer-review assessment framework tailored to wildfires was introduced, sparking considerable interest in Member States and participating states. 
• The mechanism was activated 66 times in 2023. The mechanism responded to 23 out of 24 activations inside Europe, facilitating the delivery of different and a wide diversity of items, such as medical equipment; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear decontamination and detection capacities; energy supplies; etc. Regarding response time, progress was made on reducing the overall average time required to address a request, despite isolated cases where response was delayed within Europe. See the section below on areas for improvement for more details. 
• As regards the fully fledged European aerial firefighting fleet, the priority for 2023 was to secure a consensus on the text of the relevant agreement with the manufacturer of medium-sized amphibious assets. Significant advancements were made in the negotiations and in the development of this European aerial firefighting fleet. 

Performance in the external dimension 

• In 2023, external cooperation in civil protection was boosted significantly by the signature of binding administrative agreements with Moldova and Ukraine, which became new UCPM participating states. The formal application of Georgia to join the UCPM was received in March 2023, as were expressions of interest from Armenia and Israel. Discussions continued with Turkish authorities at the political, managerial and technical levels with the aim of reaching a financial agreement aligned with other enlargement participating states. Moreover, a UCPM administrative arrangement on civil protection cooperation was signed with Canada, strengthening the parties’ readiness for catastrophic disasters and improving climate resilience and disaster risk reduction. As regards UCPM regional cooperation, a series of new flagship initiatives were launched in 2023: the PPRD Med programme in the Mediterranean, IPA CARE in the western Balkans and Türkiye (2023-2028) and the new On Site Assistance facilities in both regions. Furthermore, two regional high-level events were organised in June and October 2023 with the Union for the Mediterranean: a high-visibility meeting on climate change in Rome and a civil protection DGs meeting in Valencia. Concerning the response strand, 2023 continued to be marked largely by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which triggered the largest, longest and most complex response operation in the history of the mechanism, and the response to disasters such as the earthquakes in Türkiye and the floods in Pakistan. The mechanism replied positively to 93% of requests for assistance from outside of Europe. The 50 updated requests for assistance from Ukraine constituted the majority of the mechanism’s action outside of the EU in 2023; the UCPM has delivered around 140 000 tonnes of life-saving assistance since the conflict started. Disasters induced by natural hazards, such as storms, floods, wildfires and earthquakes, constituted 41% of the mechanism’s requests for assistance in 2023. These requests were predominantly from countries in Europe (56%), Africa (19%) and South America (11%). 
• 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 capacity building. In 2023, DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) tapped into scientific expertise on natural hazards and human-induced disasters, both from the European Scientific Partnerships and the Joint Research Centre. In 2023, the European Anthropogenic Hazard Scientific Partnership, which brings radiological and nuclear expertise and knowledge to the Emergency Response Coordination Centre, produced 137 monitoring reports, gave five training sessions and was fully activated three times. The enhanced European Natural Hazard Scientific Partnership produced 77 emergency reports and 161 monitoring reports, in addition to on-call advice. Furthermore, wildfire experts from this partnership were hosted by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre throughout the summer of 2023 as part of a specialised wildfire season support task force. Concerning response, given the increasingly unpredictable nature of disasters within and outside of the EU’s borders, the mechanism is being 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’s 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 recent crises has 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 have broken all records in recent years, mainly due to their long duration and the complexity of the emergency environment. In 2023, the average response time was 59 hours for activations inside Europe and 9 hours for activations outside Europe. The main reason for the high response time for crises inside Europe is that one request asked for educational material, for which the first offer came 53 days after the request for assistance. Without this request, the average response time would have been 4 hours, i.e. slightly above the target of 3 hours. For requests for assistance outside Europe, the response time has been reduced due to several pre-agreed requests for assistance that led to a very quick response. 
• The implementation of the programme in collaboration with the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority is generally good, as the latter provides valuable support when it comes to supply-chain issues, marketing authorisation (in cooperation with EMA) and market assessment (including shortages). Nevertheless, the cooperation with the authority has not yet covered all areas addressed in the service level agreement, taking into account also that the authority is still developing its policy and operational systems. Frequently short timeframes for consultation from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority on relevant issues make the coordination of inputs on key issues challenging. Moreover, there has been some duplication of work with the latter concerning documents and platforms, and other areas where more streamlined procedures are required. Measures to improve such shortcomings have been identified and are being discussed (improved delineation of mandates on the basis of preparedness or response phases). 
• With a view to future challenges linked to climate change and the ongoing evolution of the risk landscape, including security-related risks, an increase in the number of activations requiring a response across various sectors and deployment to high-risk areas is expected. In that regard, the security set-up allowing for deployment to high-risk areas (e.g. Egypt/Sinai, Libya, Ukraine) has already been improved, and discussions are ongoing to further strengthen the Emergency Response Coordination Centre. On the European Civil Protection Pool and rescEU side, the maintenance and sustainability of capacities (and their ability to address the increasingly numerous and varied crises) and of stockpiles remain challenging. To address these issues, efforts are being made to agree (with experts from Member States and participating states) on the types and quantities of capacities that would guarantee a sufficient level of preparedness and on securing an adequate budget to ensure them. 

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 2023 (million EUR):

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Performance assessment

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• 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. 

Contribution to the sustainable development goals