The EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) promotes cross-border cooperation in civil protection in order to respond quickly to disasters. In addition to the 27 EU member states, neighbouring countries such as Albania and Turkey also participate. Due to increasing extreme weather events and global challenges, this cooperation is becoming increasingly important. DKKV Managing Director Dr Benni Thiebes emphasised the growing importance of the UCPM at the Behördenspiegel discussion round ‘Crossing borders – international cooperation in disaster control’, which is also of benefit to Germany, for example in the procurement of fire-fighting aircraft.
Despite this importance, there are still gaps in knowledge among politicians and the public. In order to strengthen understanding, there are Europe-wide training courses and exercises such as the large-scale exercise ‘MAGNITUDE’, which identifies obstacles to cooperation and promotes improvements.
You can find the recording of the discussion here.
(Image source: BehördenSpiegel)