Commission staff working document - Accompanying document to the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - A Community approach on the prevention of natural and man-made disasters - Executive summary of the impact assessment {COM(2009) 82} {SEC(2009) 202}
Date: 2009-02-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: civil defence, environmental risk prevention, impact study, man-made disaster, natural disaster, research

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.2.2009 
SEC(2009) 203 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying document to the 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND 
SOCIALCOMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

A Community approach on the prevention of natural and man-made disasters  

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  

{COM(2009) 82} 
{SEC(2009) 202}

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The impact assessment has been prepared by the Commission services to support the 
Communication  on  “A  community  approach  on  the  prevention  of  natural  and 
manmade disasters”.  

The  objective  of  such  a  Communication  is  to  identify  measures  which  could  be 
included  in  a  Community  strategy  for  the  prevention  of  natural  and  man-made 
disasters, building upon and linking existing measures. It is also intended to trigger a 
debate with stakeholders and initiate policy discussions between the EU institutions.  

At  this  early  stage  of  policy  development,  the  objectives  of  the  impact  assessment 
are: 

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to  provide  the  necessary  information  to  support  the  policy  decision  as  to 
whether or not to develop an EU strategy on disaster prevention; 

to assess and explore options for potential inclusion in the Communication  

2. 

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES  

The  impact  assessment  is  built  on  the  results  of  two  external  independent  studies 
which identified prevention gaps in existing instruments and analysed the approach 
taken by some Member States to prevention.  

The main stakeholders were invited to participate in a general consultation meeting 
and to comment on an issues paper. Furthermore, three specific stakeholder meetings 
gathering experts from Member State administrations and private organisations were 
held to specifically address economic and environmental aspects, in particular forest 
fires, and land use/risk mapping issues.  

There was a wide consensus amongst stakeholders on the need to strengthen disaster 
prevention efforts both at Member State and EU level and on the fact that EU action 
can provide added-value in this process. According to stakeholders, while bearing in 
mind  that  disaster  prevention  is  primarily  a  national  responsibility,  similar 
vulnerabilities  across  Member  States  call  for  their  increased  coordination  and 
cooperation at EU level.  

3. 

PROBLEM DEFINITION AND POLICY OBJECTIVE  

The  tragic  events  of  the  past  years  have  led  to  the  strengthening  of  European  civil 
protection  legislation  on  preparedness  and  response,  with  a  reinforced  Community 
Civil  Protection  Mechanism1  and  the  adoption  of  the  Civil  Protection  Financial 
Instrument2.  There  is  now  a  political  will  from  all  concerned  stakeholders  to 
strengthen  the  links  between  prevention,  preparedness,  response  and  recovery: 
investment  in  preparedness  and  response  has  to  be  coupled  with  a  similar 
strengthening of the prevention sphere.  

Member States already have, to varying degrees, policies aimed at the prevention of 
disasters.  While  prevention  remains  a  national  responsibility,  action  at  Community 
level is based upon the following drivers: 

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Council Decision 2007/779/EC, Euratom establishing a Community civil protection Mechanism (recast) 
Council Decision establishing a civil protection financial instrument (2007/162/EC, Euratom) 

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An increased vulnerability of European citizens to disasters; 

Disasters cause cross-border impacts and have a transnational dimension; 

Disasters  inflict  considerable  damages  and  costs  and  have  an  impact  on  the 
economic growth and competitiveness of the EU 

The  goal  of  the  initiative  is  therefore  to  improve  the  protection  of  people,  the 
environment  and  property,  including  cultural  heritage,  by  bridging  existing  gaps, 
better  linking  the  various  sectors  and  stakeholders  and  establishing  a  policy 
framework for  initiating thematic  initiatives, horizontal and cross cutting tools, and 
guidelines for disaster prevention.  

This goal is expected to be attained via the pursuit of three specific objectives:  

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Creating  the  conditions  for  the  development  of  knowledge  based  disaster 
prevention policies at all levels of government; 

Linking the actors and policies throughout the disaster management cycle; 

–  Making existing instruments perform better for disaster prevention 

4. 

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE POLICY OPTIONS  

The Commission has identified and assessed policy options as follows: 

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a baseline option, where no further action is taken regarding the prevention of 
disasters. This option would not allow the sufficient reduction of the impact of 
disasters and would not ensure a fair level of protection to all EU citizens.  

specific  options,  on  ways  forward  for  each  of  the  areas  identified.  They 
include the following, which are not mutually exclusive and may be combined:  

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“Soft”  options  such  as  the  provision  of  guidance  aiming  at  building  a 
knowledge  base  on  disasters,  linking  actors  and  policies  and/or 
improving  the  use  of  EU  funds.  They  could  be  grouped  under  the 
activities  of  a  multisectoral  steering  group  applying  an  open  method  of 
coordination. 

Accompanying  measures:  the  integration  of  disaster  prevention  in  the 
review  process  of  relevant  legislation  is  likely  to  bring  benefits  by 
logically  complementing  the  prevention-preparedness-response-recovery 
disaster  cycle.  The  creation  of  a  “disasters  observatory”,  bringing 
together existing data and information on disasters in the EU, is likely to 
deliver quick and comprehensive results with limited costs.  

Funding  measures,  that  may  require  amending  existing  funds,  could 
improve  the  consistency  and  effectiveness  of  EU  funding  regarding  the 
prevention of disasters. The creation of a specific financial instrument for 
disaster prevention is expected to have the least advantages.  

Legislative measures may include integrated instruments addressing risk 
mapping  and  disaster  prevention  in  general,  or  vertical  instruments 
addressing specific disasters, such as forest fires. They would be the most 
effective  in  reducing  the  negative  impacts  of  disasters  but  may  imply 
significant efforts at EU and national levels.  

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5. 

CONCLUSION 

A Community strategy on disaster prevention would reduce the disparities within the 
EU  regarding  the  protection  of  people,  the  economy  and  environment  from  the 
effects of disasters, increase the general level of awareness amongst decision-makers 
and the public, promote best practice, and thereby increase the resilience of the EU 
and its economy to the increasing threat of natural and manmade disasters. 

In the  short term,  specific actions contributing  to the  development of knowledge, a 
better  linking  of  actors  and  policies  and  an  improvement  in  the  effectiveness  of 
existing  policy  instruments  with  regard  to  disaster  prevention  could  provide  a 
flexible  option  for  Community  action  that  could  adjust  to  the  different  needs  and 
resources  of  Member  States,  simultaneously  ensuring  EU-wide  coordination  and 
consistency. It would have the potential for delivering results at relatively low costs, 
would  enhance  the  understanding  of  disaster  prevention  issues  at  all  levels  and 
provide the basis for future reflections on how to further develop this policy area.  

In the long term, the approach might be developed further, leading to a consolidated 
Community strategy for the prevention of natural and man-made disasters.  

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