How the European Civil Protection Mechanism works, which Portugal is using

The flames continued to spread on two fronts on the island of Madeira on Thursday, with 4,937 hectares already gone up in smoke.

A call for help. Portugal asked its European partners for additional resources on Wednesday 21 August to fight the fire that is ravaging Madeira Island since August 14. By midday on Wednesday, 4,937 hectares had gone up in smoke, according to the European Copernicus Observatory, while the flames continued to spread on Thursday on two fronts of the archipelago.

The European Commission has confirmed on X the activation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism. “We are coordinating the deployment of two aircraft from Spain to Madeira to help local authorities fight the fires”she wrote on Thursday. This system of solidarity between the Twenty-Seven had already been activated on August 12 by Greece, ravaged by flames. What does it consist of? How can it be triggered? Franceinfo explains how it works.

Activation by the State faced with a catastrophe

Created in 2001, this system aims to “strengthening cooperation in civil protection” between countries in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, the European Commission explains on its website. The 27 EU member states participate, as well as 10 other states: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

When a country does not have enough resources to deal with an emergency situation (fire, earthquake, flood, etc.), it can ask for help from its European partners via this system. “The mechanism is not activated by the European Commission, it is the authorities of the affected country who decide whether to do so or not”the institution insists to franceinfo.

The appeal is then forwarded to the member countries of the mechanism, which choose whether or not to respond favourably. “It’s up to them to see if they have the capacity to help them”explains the European Commission.

Aid deployment managed by Brussels

Once the green light has been obtained, the European Emergency Response Centre (ERCC) takes over, in conjunction with the national civil protection authorities. “organizes the pooling of resources (equipment, experts, field teams, intervention modules, etc.) proposed by the Member States”emphasize the French firefighters on their website.

The aid provided must correspond exactly to the situation of the affected country, which “sends a very specific list of his needssays the European executive. Greece, for example, requested two planes and two helicopters to deal with the fires in August.”

Funding by the European Commission

An envelope of 3.3 billion euros is granted to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for the period 2021-2027, according to the Senate. It covers in particular the costs related to assistance operations, because the European Commission “contributes at least 75% of the transportation costs and/or operational costs of deployment missions”she assures.

States also benefit from Copernicus satellite images. The observatory “provides accurate and up-to-date geospatial information, useful for demarcating affected areas and planning disaster relief operations”adds the European executive.

Finally, the European Maritime Safety Agency may also be called upon “in the context of emergencies linked to marine pollution”as “Cleaning up oil at sea”explains the European Commission.

A system completed by a European fleet

Faced with the increase in natural disasters caused by global warming, States are not always able to send reinforcements to their neighbors. “If there are a lot of forest fires that suddenly affect a large number of Member States, it is obviously difficult to help when your country is already affected,” the European Commission underlines to franceinfo.

To address this issue, the “RescEU” project was born in 2019. “These are European resources, financed by the Commission, available to States when there are multiple and simultaneous crises”the European executive says. In anticipation of the fires of summer 2024, the EU assures that it has “strengthened the capacities of RescEU and the European Civil Protection Reserve, which now comprises 28 aircraft and four helicopters spread across ten Member States”as well as “more than 560 firefighters from twelve countries.”

A device that can be activated by any country in the world

Any country in the world, as well as the UN and its agencies, can activate the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Since its creation, the system “responded to more than 700 requests for assistance, both inside and outside the EU”specifies the European Commission, including 260 times between 2020 and 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Many of the countries asking for help are not EU members.points out the European executive, citing Chile as an example, which was the victim of violent forest fires in early 2023. Although RescEU reserves are primarily intended for EU Member States, they can also be used outside in certain cases.