EC recommendations on EU disaster resilience targets

European Commission on February 8, 2023. Adopted a recommendation and a communication on the establishment of common goals to increase resilience to natural disasters in the field of civil protection. They outline ways for European countries to better prepare for natural hazards, including earthquakes, floods and forest fires.

The disaster resilience goals outlined are aimed at improving the ability to anticipate and cope with the effects of future events and emergencies. They concern the EU as a whole, as well as individual member states and countries participating in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

The European Commission’s goals for disaster resilience to be achieved collectively are:

1. Anticipation – improving risk assessment, prediction and management planning; the complexity and interdependence of the risks facing the EU makes it important to identify vulnerabilities in critical sectors and anticipate threats and risks;
2. Preparedness – Increasing the public’s risk awareness and preparedness helps reduce the impact of natural disasters;
3. warning – improving early warning systems ensures that messages at the national, regional and local levels reach the right people in time;
4. Response – Increasing the response capacity of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism can provide greater assistance in filling critical gaps and avoiding further deterioration of the situation when a country’s independent action is insufficient;
5. Security – ensuring a robust civil protection system. Civil protection systems must function 24/7 during disasters and while recovering from them. Updating plans and procedures and ensuring coordination and information sharing across sectors, including with critical infrastructure providers, will facilitate the operation of civil protection systems in any situation.

These goals are non-binding benchmarks that support disaster prevention and preparedness activities if they affect two or more countries simultaneously.