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 mechanism (1), 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 intervention (2) 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:
Article 1
Decision 2004/277/EC, Euratom is amended as follows:
1.
In Article 2, the following definitions are added:
‘(c)
“intervention teams” means the human and material resources including civil protection modules (as referred to in Articles 3a, 3b and 3c) set-up by the Member States for civil protection interventions.
(d)
“technical assistance support teams” means the human and material resources set-up by the Member States to fulfil support tasks.’
2.
The following Articles 3a, 3b, and 3c are inserted:
‘Article 3a
1. Subject to the development of additional modules, civil protection modules shall be in accordance with the general requirements listed in Annex II.
2. Technical assistance support teams shall be in accordance with the general requirements listed in Annex III.
3. Civil protection modules as well as technical assistance support teams may be composed of resources provided by one or more Member States.
4. Where a civil protection module or a technical assistance support team are composed of more than one component, the deployment of that civil protection module or technical assistance support team in an intervention may be limited to the components necessary for that intervention.
Article 3b
1. The following elements of self-sufficiency shall apply to the individual civil protection modules as specified in Annex II:
(a)
appropriate shelter for the prevailing weather;
(b)
power generation and lighting covering the consumption of the base of operation and of the equipment required to fulfil the mission;
(c)
sanitation and hygiene facilities destined for the personnel of the module;
(d)
availability of food and water for the personnel of the module;
(e)
medical or paramedical staff, facilities and supplies for the personnel of the module;
(f)
equipment storage and maintenance of the equipment of the module;
(g)
equipment for the communication with the relevant partners, notably those in charge of the coordination on site;
(h)
local transportation;
(i)
logistics, equipment and staff enabling the setting-up of a base of operations and the beginning of the mission without delay upon arrival on site.
2. Compliance with the self-sufficiency requirements shall be guaranteed by the offering Member State by any of the following:
(a)
including in the civil protection module the necessary staff, equipments and consumables;
(b)
making the necessary arrangements on the site of operations;
(c)
making the necessary prearrangements to combine a non self-sufficient intervention team with a technical assistance support team in order to comply with the requirements referred to in Article 3c prior to the provision of information on the civil protection module concerned in accordance with Article 3(1).
3. The period for which self-sufficiency must be guaranteed at the onset of the mission may not be shorter than either of the following:
(a)
96 hours;
(b)
the periods laid down in Annex II for specific civil protection modules.
Article 3c
The Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the following requirements are met:
(a)
civil protection modules have the capability to operate with other civil protection modules;
(b)
technical assistance support teams have the capability to operate with other technical assistance support teams and with civil protection modules;
(c)
components of a civil protection module have the capability to operate together as one civil protection module;
(d)
components of a technical assistance support team have the capability to operate together as one technical assistance support team;
(e)
civil protection modules and technical assistance support teams, when deployed outside the EU, are able to operate with international disaster response capabilities supporting the affected state;
(f)
team leaders, deputy team leaders and liaison officers of civil protection modules and technical assistance support teams participate in appropriate training courses and exercises organised by the Commission in accordance with Article 5(5) of Decision 2007/NNN/EC, Euratom.’
3.
In Article 11(1), the term ‘Annex’ is replaced by the term ‘Annex I’.
4.
In Article 24, the following point (e) is added:
‘(e)
enhancing the interoperability of civil protection modules.’
5.
In the title of the Annex, the term ‘Annex’ is replaced by the term ‘Annex I’.
6.
Annex II, as set out in Annex I to this Decision, is added.
7.
Annex III, as set out in Annex II to this Decision, is added.
Article 2
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 20 December 2007.