Commission Decision

of 20 December 2007

amending Decision 2004/277/EC, Euratom as regards rules for the implementation of Council Decision 2007/779/EC, Euratom establishing a Community civil protection mechanism

(notified under document number C(2007) 6464)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2008/73/EC, Euratom)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

Having regard to Council Decision 2007/779/EC of 8 November 2007, Euratom establishing a Community civil protection mechanism1, and in particular Article 12 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)
Commission Decision 2004/277/EC, Euratom of 29 December 2003 laying down rules for the implementation of Council Decision 2001/792/EC, Euratom establishing a Community mechanism to facilitate reinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance intervention2 should be amended to incorporate implementing rules concerning European civil protection. These rules should cover the main characteristics of civil protection modules such as their tasks, capacities, components, and deployment time, and define their appropriate degree of self-sufficiency and interoperability.
(2)

Civil protection modules made of national resources from one or more Member States on a voluntary basis constitute a contribution to the civil protection rapid response capability called for by the European Council in the Conclusions of its meeting of 16 and 17 June 2005 and by the European parliament in its Resolution of 13 January 2005 on the tsunami disaster. For civil protection modules to be able to contribute responding to major emergencies, their main characteristics should meet certain general requirements.

(3)

Technical assistance support teams fulfilling support tasks are needed on site to support Community assessment and/or coordination teams in the areas of setting-up and running offices, telecommunications, subsistence and transport. For this purpose it is necessary to define general requirements for technical assistance support teams. Such teams may also contribute to the fulfilling of the self-sufficiency requirements for civil protection modules. Any arrangements for the incorporation of technical assistance support teams in civil protection modules should be made prior to the transmission of general information on the modules to the Commission.

(4)

Civil protection modules should be capable of working self-sufficiently for a given period of time. It is therefore necessary to define general requirements for self-sufficiency and, where appropriate, specific requirements that may vary in function of the type of intervention or the type of module concerned. Account should be taken of common practice of the Member States and of international organisations such as extended self-sufficiency periods for urban search and rescue modules or the sharing of tasks between the offering and the requesting country for supporting the operation of modules having an aerial component.

(5)

Measures are needed at Community and participating state levels to enhance the interoperability of civil protection modules, notably regarding training and exercises.

(6)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Civil Protection,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: