The community mechanism for civil protection and the european union solidarity fund

Abstract

This chapter gives an introduction to the EU Community Mechanism for Civil Protection (the Mechanism) and the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF). The Mechanism is a structure that aims to facilitate civil protection assistance between Member States and to third countries in response to major crises, whereas the EUSF makes possible financial support for actions undertaken in the immediate recovery phase of a crisis. The Mechanism may be described as the most practical dimension of EU crisis management and also as one of the first initiatives in the area. Although the Mechanism and the EUSF were established separately, roughly ten years apart, and constitute two different EU crisis management instruments, the context in which they were founded was similar, as are their roles in the wider development of crisis management in the EU. As a consequence of major natural and man-made disasters that have struck Europe and other parts of the world in the last decade, the importance of solidarity has been accentuated among the Member States. Moreover, the awareness has increased regarding the necessity to cooperate at a European level in order to manage major crises. As a result, efforts have been made to enhance cooperation at the EU-level in the areas of prevention, preparation, response and recovery - an ambition which has been materialised through, e.g., the creation of the Mechanism and the EUSF. Seen in a wider context, the Mechanism and the EUSF are examples of the rising ambition among several actors, both Member States and EU institutions, to develop, improve and deepen cooperation at the EU-level regarding crisis management. In addition to the rising significance of solidarity, development in the area is also to an important degree influenced by the Member States' reluctance to give the Union authority over national civil protection resources. The possible introduction of the Solidarity Clause and the implementation of the Solidarity Declaration (presented in Chap. 1) would further highlight the tension. Civil protection is a politically sensitive area, where issues regarding sovereignty play a central role. Choices sometimes need to be made between sovereignty and solidarity (or between national and supranational authority). This is one of the main factors shaping cooperation in the area of civil protection.1 © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.