POLICY
The overall objectives of EU cooperation in the field of civil protection are to ensure better protection of people, the environment, property and cultural heritage in the event of major natural, technological and man-made disasters.
The increase in the number and intensity of natural and man-made disasters and in their economic impact calls for systematic action at European level to strengthen preparedness and to enhance response capacities, both inside and outside the EU. European cooperation and solidarity enables the EU as a whole to be collectively prepared to face major disasters and allows Member States and other participating states (Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Croatia) to pool resources and respond with a collective effort which maximises the impact of disaster response and minimises human and material loss. When disaster strikes within the EU or in third countries, the authorities of the affected country can benefit from immediate and tangible assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
EU cooperation in the field of civil protection aims at:
–Facilitating a rapid and efficient response to disasters;
–Ensuring sufficient preparedness of civil protection actors to emergencies; and
–Developing measures for the prevention of disasters.
The EU has developed an integrated approach to disaster management addressing response, preparedness and prevention activities. A Communication “Towards a Stronger European Union Disaster Response” was adopted 1) by the Commission and endorsed by the Council in 2010. The main aim is to improve effectiveness, coherence and visibility of EU response. This will be done by building on lessons learnt from natural disasters occurring within Europe and outside the EU during 2010 (such as storm Xynthia, floods in Eastern Europe, forest fires in Southern Europe, the red sludge spill in Hungary, the Haiti earthquake, Pakistan floods).
The creation of the European Emergency Response Capacity will primarily build on existing Member State capacities, thereby avoiding additional costs. At the EU level, the establishment of the European Emergency Response Centre with strengthened planning and coordination functions will bring a gain for the whole EU by generating savings at Member State level which should outweigh the costs to the EU budget, although of course the benefits of fast and effective disaster response in terms of human lives saved cannot be measured in purely financial terms.
Prevention and Preparedness policy measures as set out in Commission Communications and Council Conclusions 2) include support for training and exercises, the exchange of experts and cooperation projects testing new approaches to reduce the risk of disasters. Independent studies for organisations including the World Bank have indicated that the return on investments in disaster prevention is between 400% and 700%.
INSTRUMENTS
The Commission proposes to renew the Civil Protection Financial Instrument (CPI) to provide financial support for activities addressing the different aspects of the disaster management cycle, namely a more coherent and better integrated response in case of emergencies, improved preparedness to deal with disasters and innovative actions to reduce the risk of disaster. The CPI will also be used for the creation of the European Emergency Response Capacity, building on voluntary pooling of Member States civil protection assets, so as to generate enhanced cost-effectiveness through coordinated availability of civil protection assets.
The revised CPI will further strengthen and enhance the EU’s disaster management capacity through a shift to predictable and pre-planned systems. This will be done by a more comprehensive collection of real-time information on disasters, an improved mapping of Member States’ civil protection assets and a coordinated approach in facilitating the rapid deployment of staff and material to the disaster area. It will also support preparedness activities focusing on raising the quality of training, broadening the scope of training to include prevention and integrating training and exercises. It will also support Member States’ efforts to reinforce risk management planning and to develop innovative financing mechanisms (such as regional insurance pooling).

IMPLEMENTATION
The renewal of the CPI will take into account the results of the evaluation and proposals of civil protection stakeholders on how to simplify procedures and funding mechanisms, as well as experience gained through pilot projects and preparatory actions on rapid response.
The civil protection activities implemented by the civil protection bodies of the Member States will be supported and supplemented by EU activities, including through the facilitation of co-ordinated action. This will take the form of activities such as the voluntary pooling of resources, training and supporting the cost of transport to deliver assets to places of emergencies.
This will facilitate the simplification of procedures used under the current instrument and will streamline administrative procedures, especially in the area of grants, taking into account the principles of transparency and equal treatment. The options being assessed relate to the type of operations to be supported – training, exercises related to emergencies, transport support for Member States in time of an emergency, cooperation projects on prevention and preparedness for disasters.

PROPOSED BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR 2014-2020
All figures in constant 2011 prices
Total proposed budget 2014-2020 of the Civil protection Instrument €455 million
of which
Civil protection – internal €245 million
Civil protection – external and European Emergency Response Capacity €210 million

1) COM(2010) 600 final– adopted on 26 October 2010.
2) COM(2009) 82 final and Council conclusions of 30.11.2009 on a Community framework on disaster prevention within the EU and Council conclusions of 14.11.2008 on European disaster management training.