GENERAL INFORMATION
The biggest disaster to hit Europe in decades, the COVID-19 pandemic, has killed more than 531 869 people only in EU/EEA countries and it is still unfolding at the time of writing. The pandemic has quickly overwhelmed national healthcare systems, disrupted public life and generated major shocks to society and the economy. The COVID-19 pandemic is the worst health crisis seen in EU’s history, though unfortunately it is not the only extreme event witnessed in recent years. Regions from north to south Europe have experienced life-threatening heatwaves, with historic temperature records broken several years in a row. The past three years have also seen dramatic wildfires blazing throughout the continent, killing more people and burning more land than ever before. Storms, extreme rainfall events and floods continued to cause damage, with washed-away roads and inundated city streets making news headlines. Some of the strongest earthquakes to hit the EU and neighbouring countries in years sent a reminder of ever-present seismic risk.
Against this backdrop, the 2020 “Overview of Natural and Man-made Disaster Risk the European Union may face” highlights that increasing the cooperation across borders and sectors in all phases of risk management is critical to better address the transboundary nature of disaster risk, the increasing complexity and emergence of new threats. This call for proposal aims to translate such a policy priority into a number of cross-border prevention and preparedness projects that can lead to new knowledge and investments for better managing the risk of disasters. Europe and its neighbours face a wide range of disaster risks, such as floods, forest fires, earthquakes and various technological, radiological and environmental accidents, resulting in loss of life, destruction of property, environment, critical infrastructure and cultural heritage. These challenges are further exacerbated by climate change which contributes to the increasing frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters across Europe. No country alone can be fully prepared for all kinds of disasters. The Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) was established to strengthen the cooperation and coordination between the European Union and the Member States in the field of civil protection The Mechanism supports efforts of Member States and Participating States to protect primarily people, but also the environment and property, including cultural heritage, against all kinds of natural and man-made disasters, including the consequences of acts of terrorism, technological, radiological or environmental disasters, marine pollution and health emergencies, occurring inside and outside the Union. In the case of the consequences of acts of terrorism or radiological disasters, the Mechanism only focuses on preparedness and response actions. In addition to response to disasters, prevention and preparedness are essential building blocks of the EU cooperation in the area of civil protection.
OBJECTIVES
EU action aims to support, complement and facilitate coordination of Member States’ action through this call for proposals in order to:
a) achieve a high level of protection against disasters with cross-border impacts by preventing or reducing their potential effects, by fostering a culture of prevention and by improving cooperation between the civil protection, marine pollution and other relevant services/stakeholders;
b) enhance cooperation and coordination in the area of preparedness and response between authorities and stakeholders in Member States, Participating States, IPA beneficiaries not participating in the Mechanism, and/or European Neighbourhood Policy countries that share a border, based on existing crossborder or macro-regional agreements or strategies, including regional sea conventions;
c) promote the use of various Union funds (e.g. Interreg, Horizon 2020, ERDF, ENI, IPA, Cohesion Funds, EAFRD, Life Programme) which may support sustainable disaster risk management and encourage Member States to exploit these funding opportunities including for cross-border regions.