A European civil protection mechanism with military personnel to respond to emergencies

Brussels – Strengthening the European Civil Protection Mechanism with military personnel, interchangeable at the EU level. That’s the idea of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to equip the Union with a more effective response in the face of extreme weather phenomena and their consequences due to climate change. The idea was expressed at the Hanaholmen Initiative Summit.

“Europe has an outstanding civil protection mechanism,” von der Leyen premised. “We want to build on it and launch a new European civilian defence mechanism.”. According to this approach, she explains, “Our military and civilian personnel must be ready to work together in case of an emergency, not only at the national but also at the European level.” Europe, the President of the EU executive continued, “is warming twice as fast as the global average. And we must mobilise all our resources to protect Europeans from climate change.”