Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism
Date: 2020-06-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, aid to disaster victims, civil defence, cooperation policy, emergency aid, epidemic, financial aid, infectious disease, man-made disaster, natural disaster

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 2.6.2020  COM(2020) 220 final 2020/0097 (COD)  Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (Text with EEA relevance)  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

The proposal  is  intended to  introduce some targeted changes  to  Decision No 1313/2013/EU 
(‘the Decision’) on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (‘Union Mechanism’), under which 
the European Union supports, coordinates and supplements the action of Member States in the 
field of civil protection to prevent, prepare for and respond to natural and man-made disasters 
within  and  outside  the  Union.  Building  on  the  principles  of  solidarity  and  shared 
responsibility, the overall objective of this proposal is to ensure that the Union can provide a 
better crisis and emergency support to its citizens in Europe and beyond. 

This  proposal  builds  on  the  progress  achieved  to  date  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  in  their  consideration  and  deliberations  on  Commission  proposal  COM(2019)  125 
final1.   

The  Union  Mechanism  has  proven  to  be  a  useful  tool  to  mobilise  and  coordinate  the 
assistance  provided  by  the  Participating  States  responding  to  crises  inside  and  outside  the 
Union,  constituting  a  tangible  proof  of  European  solidarity.  Similarly,  the  Union  will 
temporarily  facilitate,  under  the  Emergency  Support  Instrument,  the  transfer  of  patients  and 
medical  personnel  between  Member  States,  an  essential  contribution  which  brings  tangible 
benefits given the cross-border dimension of the actions. However, the COVID-19 pandemic 
has  shown  -  the  need  for  better  European  Union  preparedness  for  future  large-scale 
emergencies, while proving the limitations of the current framework. The inter-connectedness 
of  our  societies  confronting  the  same  emergency  and  their  resulting  difficulty  to  help  each 
other has demonstrated the need of enhanced action at Union level, as also requested by the 
European Council Joint Statement on 26 March 2020.  

The  Union  Mechanism  currently  relies  totally  on  Member  States’  resources.  As  shown  in 
recent  months,  this  system  of  mutual  European  solidarity  tends  to  falter  if  all,  or  most, 
Member States are impacted by the same emergency simultaneously and are therefore unable 
to offer each other assitance. In such cases of large-scale high impact emergencies, the Union 
is  currently  unable  to  step  in  sufficiently  to  fill  these  critical  gaps.  Ensuring  an  effective 
overall  Union  response  to  large-scale  emergencies,  the  Union  Mechanism  requires  more 
flexibility  and  autonomy  to  act  at  Union  level,  in  situations  when  overwhelmed  Member 
States cannot do so.  

The  Commission  is  proposing  to  harness  the  full  power  of  the  EU  budget  to  mobilise 
investment  and  frontload  financial  support  in  the  crucial  first  years  of  recovery.  These 
proposals are based on: 

•         an emergency European Union Recovery Instrument as an exceptional measure, based 
on Article 122 of TFEU, the financing of which will be based on an empowerment provided 
in  the  proposal  for  the  Own  Resources  Decision. The  funds  will  enable  implementation  of 
fast-acting measures to protect livelihoods, increase prevention and strengthen resilience and 
recovery in response to the crisis. 
•       a reinforced Multi-Annual Financial Framework for 2021-2027.  

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COM(2019)125  of 7.3.2019. 

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Against this  background, the Commission  proposes  a targeted revision of the current  Union 
Mechanism’s legislation in  order to address  the  main challenges that the Union Mechanism 
faces  today.  The  changes  will  enable  the  Union  Mechanism  to  act  more  efficiently  and 
effectively, fill existing gaps and save lives. In concrete terms, the changes contained in this 
proposal are aimed at achieving the following objectives: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

f) 

g) 

Reinforce  a  cross-sectoral  and  societal  preparedness  approach  to  trans-boundary 
disaster risk management, including establishing a baseline and planning elements at 
a European level, taking into account how climate change affects disaster risk. 

ensure  that  the  Commission  is  able  to  directly  procure  an  adequate  safety  net  of 
rescEU capacities; 

provide  the  Commission  with  the  logistical  capacity  to  provide  multi-purpose  air 
services  in  case  of  emergencies  and  to  ensure  timely  transport  and  delivery  of 
assistance; 

design a more flexible system for response to large-scale emergencies;  

enhance  the  Emergency  Response  Coordination  Centre’s  operational  coordination 
and  monitoring  role  in  support  of  the  EU’s  swift  and  effective  response  to  a  broad 
range of crises inside and outside the Union, in complementarity with existing crisis 
response mechanisms and in line with existing inter-institutional arrangements;  

enable stronger investment in preparedness at Union level and further simplification 
of budget implementation; 

enable the implementation of recovery and resilience measures under the Union Civil 
Protection  Mechanism  through  financing  from  the  European  Union  Recovery 
Instrument, constituting external assigned revenues according to Article 21(5) of the 
Financial Regulation. 

The enhanced Union Mechanism would allow the Union and the Member States to be better 
prepared for and react quickly and effectively in a future crisis, in particular those with a high-
impact given the potential disruption to our economies and societies, as seen so clearly in the 
COVID-19 emergency. Over the long-term, preventing and minimising the impact of disasters 
with  better  preparedness  is  more  cost-effective  than  responding  in  particular  given  how 
climate change and environmental degradation are increasing disaster risk globally and in the 
Union. 

 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

Europe has a responsibility to show solidarity and to support those in need. Solidarity, which 
underpins Decision No 1313/2013/EU, will be strengthened under this proposal, alongside the 
principles of shared responsibility and accountability. 

This proposal builds on the positive results the existing framework has delivered so far, and 
intends  to  correct  its  shortcomings  with  reinforced  provisions  so  as  to  continue  to  support, 
coordinate and complement the action of the Member States in this area. 

 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The  actions  envisaged  under  the  revised  Union  Mechanism  are  aligned  with  the  overall 
objective of the Union to ensure that all relevant Union policies and instruments contribute to 
reinforcing the Union’s capacities in terms of disaster risk management taking an ‘all hazards’ 
approach, from response and recovery to disaster prevention. 

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In particular, special attention is being given to ensuring close coordination and consistency 
with  actions  carried  out  under  other  Union  policies  and  instruments  aiming  in  particular  at 
preserving  people’s  lives,  preventing  and  alleviating  human  suffering  and  protecting  human 
dignity, including avoiding, minimising and addressing the adverse consequences of climate 
change.  

Specifically  important  is  the  coordination  with  the  new  Union  ‘EU4Health’  programme. 
Where  the  Union  Mechanism  will  focus  on  the  direct  crisis  response  capacities  which  will 
have  to  be  immediately  ready  and  available  in  case  of  an  emergency,  the  ‘EU4Health’ 
programme will include structural, large-scale reserves, including a reserve of ready medical 
staff  and  experts,  and  the  underlying  resilience  of  the  health-care  systems.  Those  resources 
will be crucial for a coordinated crisis response at Union level. 

This proposal also provides the necessary budgetary resources to support Union actions in the 
field of civil protection, notably via a strengthened Union Mechanism. The latter contributes 
to the overarching objective of a ‘Europe that Protects’ as referred to in the Communication 
from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council on 
‘a  new,  modern  multiannual  financial  framework  for  a  European  Union  that  delivers 
efficiently  on  its  priorities  post-2020’.  Under  the  new  multiannual  financial  framework 
proposal,  funding  related  to  civil  protection  has  been  subsumed  into  one  single  heading: 
Heading  5  ‘Resilience,  Security  and  Defence’.  The  specific  cluster  ‘Resilience  and  Crisis 
Response’, will encompass both the internal and external dimensions of civil protection. 

No legislative act under other Union policies can currently achieve the objectives pursued by 
this proposal. There should therefore also be no overlap of actions in the field. 

2. 

 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  legal  basis  for  this  proposal  is  Article  196  and  Article  322(1)(a)  of  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning of the European Union. 

 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The Commission has a supporting competence in the area of civil protection. Member States 
still bear the primary responsibility when it comes to preventing, preparing for and responding 
to disasters. The Union Mechanism was established because major disasters can overwhelm 
the response capacities of any Member State acting alone. The provision of well-coordinated 
and rapid mutual assistance amongst Member States is at its core. 

The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting on 
their  own.  Union  action  in  this  field  involves  managing  situations  with  a  strong  trans-
boundary and multi-country components, which necessarily require overall coordination and 
concerted action beyond the national level.  

As  shown  by  the  COVID-19  outbreak,  in  case  of  serious  emergencies  where  the  European 
Union  as  a  whole  is  concerned  by  the  scale  and  the  scope  of  the  emergency,  a  collective, 
coordinated and urgent response is needed to avoid a fragmented approach which would limit 
the effectiveness of the Union response. Due to the pressing demands to mobilise resources in 
sufficient  scale  and  deploy  them  across  the  Member  States  on  the  basis  of  their  needs,  it  is 
necessary that the Union acts in cooperation with Member States. The global dimension and 
the effects of these emergencies indeed require a coordinated action, which ensures the rapid 
and effective mitigation of disasters, alongside with the prevention of their resurgence. 

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Taking into account the benefits in terms of reducing the loss of human life, environmental, 
economic and material damage as well as social impact, the proposal brings clear EU added 
value. 

 

Proportionality 

The  proposal  does  not  go  beyond  what  is  necessary  to  achieve  the  objectives.  It  addresses 
gaps that have been identified since the adoption of Decision (EU) 2019/420 of the European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  amending  Decision  No  1313/2013/EU  on  a  Union  Civil 
Protection Mechanism and proposes solutions in line with the mandate given by the Council 
and the European Parliament. 

The  administrative  burden  for  the  Union  and  the  Member  States  is  limited  and  does  not  go 
beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the proposal.  

 

Choice of the instrument 

Proposal for a Decision amending Decision No 1313/2013 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism. 

3. 

 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Stakeholder consultations 

Due to the urgency to prepare the proposal so that it can be adopted on time by the Council, a 
stakeholder consultation could not be carried out. 

 

Collection and use of expertise 

Not relevant. 

Impact assessment 

Due  to  the  urgent  nature  of  the  proposal,  no  impact  assessment  was  carried  out.  However, 
preliminary lessons learnt from the COVID-19 outbreak, identified in close cooperation with 
relevant  stakeholders,  both  at  national  and  Union  level,  have  fed  into  the  proposal,  thus 
contributing to a thorough evaluation of the impact of the proposed policies. 

 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

The  proposed  amendments  are  targeted  in  scope  and  nature,  balances  Member  States' 
interests, and are proportional to what is operationally required.  

More generally, this proposal seeks to establish a more flexible system to ensure that response 
to disasters is agile and straightforward to apply, therefore ensuring Member States are able to 
access support and facilitation from the Union Mechanism when needed. For example, recent 
disasters have highlighted that the Union might not be sufficiently equipped for emergencies 
with  wide-ranging  impact  affecting  several  Member  States  at  the  same  time.  In  such 
circumstances, Member States, notwithstanding their intention to help, are not always able to 
offer  assistance.  In  response  to  the  global  COVID-19  outbreak,  more  than  30  countries  (10 
Member States and Participating States of the Union Mechanism as well as more than 20 third 
countries)  have  requested  assistance  through  the  Union  Mechanism.  The  Union  Mechanism 
was  not  able  to  respond  fully  to  a  majority  of  requests  for  assistance  received  during  the 
COVID-19 outbreak. Through this proposal, the Commission aims to deliver better and more 
efficient results in future situations of similar scale. In such cases of large scale high impact 
emergencies, the Union is unable to step in to fill these critical gaps as it requires the capacity, 

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legal  and  financial  instruments  to  also  fulfil  its  supporting  competence  in  the  field  of  civil 
protection  when  Member  States  are  under  pressure  simultaneously  and  cannot  offer  each 
other  assistance.  Even  though  the  Commission  immediately  reacted  to  the  outbreak  by 
creating a Union medical stockpile, the first procurement was only launched some four weeks 
after  the  first  confirmed  cases  of  COVID-19  in  Europe,  as  Member  States  were  busy  in 
dealing  with  the  emergency  and  were  not  in  a  position  to  ensure  a  quick  procurement  and 
storage of rescEU capacities in Member State’s facilities. 

In  terms  of  simplification,  it  is  important  to  consider  that  direct  procurement  of  rescEU 
capacities by the Commission would, alongside allowing autonomous action at Union level, 
alleviate  the  financial  and  administrative  burden  on  Member  States  which  would  not  be 
required to directly acquire, rent or lease the relevant capacities, as is also the case during the 
COVID-19  outbreak.  The  new  proposed  modality  would  help  the  Commission  save  critical 
time and intervene more rapidly, bringing clear added value to the emergency response efforts 
laying out the foundation for a sustainable recovery. 

Transport,  logistics  and  communication  are  core  elements  of  any  major  international 
assistance  operation.  The  Commission  would  therefore  wish  to  reinforce  provisions  in  this 
area to ensure that the Union is able to react quickly to a crisis.  

Adding  indirect  management  as  a  mode  of  budget  implementation  would  also  facilitate 
budget implementation. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The total budget allocated for the Union Civil Protection Mechanism amounts to EUR  3 455 
902 000 (in current prices) for the 2021-2027 period.  

1. 

2. 

5. 

 

EUR 1 268 282 000  shall derive from heading 5 “Resilience, Security and Defense” 
of the MFF 2021-2027 (new paragraph 1a in article 19) 

EUR  2  187  620  000  shall  be  made  available  through  the  European  Recovery 
Instrument based on empowerment provided in the new Own Resources Decision.  

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Article 34 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism applies. It 
provides  that  actions  receiving  financial  assistance  shall  be  monitored  regularly  in  order  to 
follow their implementation. More general requirements for the Commission to evaluate the 
application  of  the  Decision  and  submit  interim  and  ex  post  evaluation  reports,  as  well  as  a 
communication  on  implementation  are  also  provided  therein.  Such  evaluations  should  be 
based on the indicators provided for in Article 3 of the Decision.  

 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

This proposal amends a limited number of articles of Decision No 1313/2013/EU in order to 
achieve the objectives set out in the explanatory memorandum (section 1). 

The interdependency of Member States in terms of their ability to react early and rapidly to a 
developing emergency with trans-boundary impact has been clearly demonstrated by COVID-
19. Such interdependencies are not limited to pandemics, but would apply to a range of large-
scale  disasters  that  could  impact  several  Member  States  simultaneously.  To  address  those 
interdependencies  and  ensure  stronger  preparedness  at  the  Union  level,  reinforcement  of 

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collective work on disaster resilience and planning is necessary. To that end, the Commission 
proposes to work, in coordination with Member States, on the development of Union disaster 
resilience goals and scenario planning, including addressing the impacts of climate change on 
disaster risk. 

To ensure that rescEU provides an adequate safety net for when Member State capacities are 
overwhelmed, the Commission should be in a position to directly procure rescEU capacities 
to ensure that a sufficient safety net of strategic assets can be constituted in order to support 
Member States in overwhelming situations such as a large-scale emergency. In doing so, the 
Commission will ensure consistency and complementarity between rescEU procurement and 
other Union action, such as the ‘EU4Health’ programme. 

The availability of  an  adequate safety net  of rescEU capacities will be  achieved by funding 
strategic  capacities  as  well  as  an  inter-connected  emergency  information  management 
infrastructure that can cater for any type of emergency, deployable under the auspices of the 
rescEU. 

These  strategic  capacities  will  be  supplementary  to  those  of  Member  States  and  provide 
additional  support  where  Member  States  are  overwhelmed  given  the  magnitude  of  an 
emergency.  They  should  be  strategically  pre-positioned  to  ensure  most  effective  geographic 
coverage in response to an emergency and should be accompanied by the necessary logistical, 
warehousing and transport capacity. 

The warehousing of assistance and the transport capacity should be strategically interlinked to 
increase rapidness in the delivery and ensure the well-functioning of the supply chain. 

The need for a more flexible system for response to large-scale emergencies has emerged as a 
clear  lesson  learnt  from  the  COVID-19  outbreak.  The  effectiveness  of  the  whole  response 
mechanism  would  be  maximised  via  the  availability  of  additional  capacities  and  more 
flexibility  when it comes to  deployability of  rescEU resources  – irrespectively of where the 
need for such assets arise.  

The  operational  role  of  the  Emergency  Response  Coordination  Centre  at  the  centre  of  a 
network  of  national  crisis  centres  supporting  the  Union’s  swift  and  effective  response  to  a 
broad  range  of  crises  at  home  and  around  the  world  should  be  enhanced,  in  line  with  the 
conclusions of the March 2020 European Council. Without prejudice to existing sectoral early 
warning  and  alert  systems  and  crisis  response  mechanisms,  this  is  to  be  achieved  via 
reinforcing links with other relevant EU-level entities involved in crisis management and by 
strengthening its monitoring and early warning functions. 

Improving Union preparedness and allocating additional resources to the Union Mechanism is 
attained through an ambitious budget to reinforce the collective capacity of the Member States 
and the Union to respond to disasters and via a greater focus on prevention and on improving 
coherence  with  other  key  Union  policies.  Emergency  response  also  requires  appropriate 
flexibility for budget implementation and for the adoption of urgency measures in exceptional 
cases which require a rapid response. 

This  proposal  envisages  the  deletion  of  Annex  I,  which  currently  establishes  the  relative 
percentages that each pillar of the Union Mechanism (prevention, preparedness and response) 
should  receive  in  terms  of  funding  from  the  overall  financial  envelope.  As  the  COVID-19 
outbreak  has  shown,  the  percentages  outlined  in  Annex  I  do  not  appear  to  ensure  sufficient 

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flexibility so that the Union can achieve the objectives it has set. During an emergency, the 
percentages  in  Annex  I  lead  to  undue  administrative  burden  and  may  limit  the  flexibility 
needed to adapt to the disaster needs in any given year. The need to invest in all phases of the 
disaster risk management cycle, prevention, preparedness and response is firmly embedded in 
the Union Mechanism and reinforced with this proposal. 

As a result of the deletion of Annex I, current paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 19 should also be 
deleted since they refer directly to the percentages mentioned in Annex I. 

As a result, the proposal also amends Article 30 on the exercise of the delegation of powers 
conferred  on  the  Commission.  While  the  substance  of  the  Article  remains  unchanged,  the 
cross-references to Article 19 are removed. Article 30 has not been deleted in order to cater 
for the possibility to adopt delegated acts. 

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2020/0097 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 196 and Article 322(1)(a) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee2,  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions3,  

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

The  Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  (‘the  Union  Mechanism’)  governed  by 
Decision  No  1313/2013/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council4 
strengthens  cooperation  between  the  Union  and  the  Member  States  and  facilitates 
coordination in the field of civil protection in order to improve the Union's response to 
natural and man-made disasters. 

(2)  Whilst  recognising  the  primary  responsibility  of  Member  States  for  preventing, 
preparing  for  and  responding  to  natural  and  man-made  disasters,  the  Union 
Mechanism  promotes  solidarity  between  Member  States  in  accordance  with  Article 
3(3) of the Treaty on European Union. 

(3) 

(4) 

2 
3 
4 

5 

The unprecedented experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the 
Union  effectiveness  in  managing  a  crisis  is  limited  by  the  scope  of  its  governance 
framework,  but  also  by  the  degree  of  Union  preparedness  in  case  of  disasters 
impacting a majority of Member States.  
The  European  Council  in  its  Joint  Statement  of  26  March  20205  and  the  European 
Parliament  in  its  resolution  of  17  April  20206  have  invited  the  Commission  to  make 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a 
Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 924). 
the 
Joint 
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/43076/26-vc-euco-statement-en.pdf  

European 

statement 

Members 

Council, 

the 

of 

of 

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(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

proposals for a more ambitious and wide-ranging crisis management system within the 
Union.  

In order to be better prepared when confronted with such events in the future, urgent 
action is required for reinforcing the Union Mechanism.  

risk  management  approaches 

To  improve  planning  in  prevention  and  preparedness,  the  Union  should  continue 
advocating  for  investment  in  prevention  of  disasters  across  sectors,  and  for  
comprehensive 
that  underpin  prevention  and 
preparedness,  taking  into  account  a  multi-hazard  approach,  an  ecosystem-based 
approach  and  the  likely  impacts  of  climate  change,  in  close  cooperation  with  the 
relevant  scientific  communities  and  key  economic  operators.  To  that  effect,  cross-
sectoral  and  all-hazard  approaches  should  be  put  at  the  forefront  and  be  based  on 
Union  wide  resilience  goals  feeding  into  a  baseline  definition  of  capacities  and 
preparedness. The Commission is to work together with Member States when defining 
Union wide resilience goals. 

The  Union  Mechanism  should  continue  to  exploit  synergies  with  the  European 
Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection and the Union framework on critical 
infrastructure  protection  and  resilience  should  account  for  the  establishment  of  such 
Union wide resilience goals. 

As  a  24/7  operational  centre  at  Union  level  with  capacity  to  follow  and  support 
operations in various types of emergencies, within and outside the Union, in real-time, 
the  Emergency  Response  Coordination  Centre  (‘ERCC’)  should  be  further 
strengthened. This should include enhanced coordination of the ERCC with Member 
States’  national  crisis  systems  and  civil  protection  authorities,  as  well  as  with  other 
relevant  Union  bodies.  The  work  of  the  ERCC  is  supported  by  scientific  expertise, 
including that provided by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. 

The  Union  Mechanism  should  make  use  of  Union  space  infrastructures  such  as  the 
European  Earth  Observation  Programme  (Copernicus),  Galileo,  Space  Situational 
Awareness and GOVSATCOM, which provide important Union level tools to respond 
to  internal  and  external  emergencies.  Copernicus  Emergency  Management  Systems 
are  providing  support  to  the  ERCC  in  the  various  emergency  phases  from  early 
warning and prevention to disaster and recovery. GOVSATCOM is to provide secure 
satellite  communication  capability  specifically  tailored  to  the  needs  of  governmental 
users  in  emergency  management.  Galileo  is  the  first  global  satellite  navigation  and 
positioning  infrastructure  specifically  designed  for  civilian  purposes  in  Europe  and 
worldwide, and can be used in other areas such as emergency management, including 
early warning activities. Galileo's relevant services will include an emergency service, 
which  broadcasts,  through  emitting  signals,  warnings  regarding  natural  disasters  or 
other  emergencies  in  particular  areas.  The  Member  States  should  be  able  to  use  this 
service.  Where  they  decide  to  use  it,  in  order  to  validate  the  system,  they  should 
identify  and  notify  to  the  Commission  the  national  authorities  competent  to  use  that 
emergency service. 

(10) 

In order to have the operational capacity to respond swiftly to a large-scale emergency 
or to a low probability event with a high impact such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 
Union should have the possibility of acquiring, renting, leasing or contracting rescEU 

6 

European Parliament resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 
pandemic and its consequences (2020/2616(RSP)) 

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capacities to be able to assist Member States overwhelmed by large-scale emergencies, 
in  line  with  the  supporting  competence  in  the  area  of  civil  protection  and  with  a 
particular attention to vulnerable people. Those capacities are to be pre-positioned in 
logistical hubs inside the Union or, for strategic reasons, via trusted networks of hubs 
such as the UN Humanitarian Response Depots. 

(11) 

rescEU capacities acquired, rented, leased or otherwise contracted by Member States 
could  be  used  for  national  purposes,  but  only  when  not  used  or  needed  for  response 
operations under the Union Mechanism. 

(12)  Where  needed,  the  Union  has  an  interest  in  responding  to  emergencies  in  third 
countries. Whilst primarily established for use as a safety net within the Union, in duly 
justified cases and taking into account the humanitarian principles, rescEU capacities 
could be deployed outside the Union.  

(13) 

In  order  to  support  Member  States  to  deliver  the  assistance,  the  European  Civil 
Protection Pool  should be further reinforced by co-financing the operational  costs of 
the committed capacities when deployed outside the Union. 

(14)  Obtaining  the  necessary  transport  and  logistical  capacity  is  essential  to  allow  the 
Union to respond to any kind of emergency situation within and outside the Union. It 
is key to provide multi-purpose aircraft services in case of emergencies and to ensure 
timely transport and delivery of assistance and aid within the Union, but also  to  and 
from  outside  the  Union.  Therefore  rescEU  capacities  should  also  include  transport 
capacities.  

(15)  The  Union  Mechanism  should  also  provide 

in 
environmental disasters through the furtherance of the "polluter pays" principle in line 
with Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), 
as  well  as  Directive  2004/35/CE  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council7  on 
environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental 
damage. 

transport  assistance  needed 

(16)  Given  that  the  deployment  of  rescEU  capacities  for  response  operations  under  the 
Union  Mechanism  provides  significant  Union  added  value  by  ensuring  an  effective 
and  fast  response  to  people  in  emergencies,  further  visibility  obligations  should  be 
made to provide Union prominence. 

(17) 

(18) 

(19) 

7 

8 

In  order  to  increase  flexibility  as  well  as  achieve  optimal  budget  execution,  indirect 
management should be included as a method of budget implementation. 

In  order  to  promote  predictability  and  long-term  effectiveness,  when  implementing 
Decision  No  1313/2013/EU,  the  Commission  should  adopt  annual  or  multi-annual 
work  programmes  indicating  the  planned  allocations.  This  should  help  the  Union  to 
have  more  flexibility  in  budget  execution  and  thereby  enhance  prevention  and 
preparedness actions.  
In  accordance  with  Regulations  (EU,  Euratom)  2018/10468  (‘the  Financial 
Regulation’) and (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the 

Directive  2004/35/CE  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  21  April  2004  on 
environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage, (OJ 143, 
30.04.2004 p.56.)  
Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 
on  the  financial  rules  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the  Union,  amending  Regulations  (EU)  No 
1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) 

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Council9  and  Council  Regulations  (Euratom,  EC)  No  2988/9510,  (Euratom,  EC)  No 
2185/9611  and  (EU)  2017/193912,  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union  are  to  be 
protected  through  proportionate  measures,  including  the  prevention,  detection, 
correction  and  investigation  of  irregularities,  including  fraud,  the  recovery  of  funds 
lost,  wrongly  paid  or  incorrectly  used,  and,  where  appropriate,  the  imposition  of 
administrative penalties. In particular, in accordance with Regulations (Euratom, EC) 
No  2185/96  and  (EU,  Euratom)  No  883/2013,  the  European  Anti-Fraud  Office 
(OLAF) may carry out administrative investigations, including on-the-spot checks and 
inspections,  with  a  view  to  establishing  whether  there  has  been  fraud,  corruption  or 
any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union. In accordance 
with  Regulation  (EU)  2017/1939,  the  European  Public  Prosecutor's  Office  (‘EPPO’) 
may investigate and prosecute offences against the financial interests of the Union, as 
provided  for  in  Directive  (EU)  2017/137113  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council.  In accordance with  the Financial Regulation, any person or entity  receiving 
Union  funds  is  to  fully  cooperate  in  the  protection  of  the  financial  interests  of  the 
Union, grant the necessary rights and access to the Commission, OLAF, the EPPO in 
respect  of  those  Member  States  participating  in  enhanced  cooperation  pursuant  to 
Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, and the European Court of Auditors, and ensure that any 
third  parties  involved  in  the  implementation  of  Union  funds  grant  equivalent  rights. 
For that reason, agreements with third countries and territories and with international 
organisations, and any contract or agreement resulting from the implementation of this 
Decision,  should  contain  provisions  expressly  empowering  the  Commission,  the 
European  Court  of  Auditors,  EPPO  and  OLAF  to  conduct  such  audits,  on-the-spot 
checks and inspections, in accordance with their respective competences and ensuring 
that  any  third  parties  involved  in  the  implementation  of  Union  funding  grant 
equivalent rights. 

(20)  Third countries which are members of the European Economic Area may participate in 
Union  programmes  in  the  framework  of  the  cooperation  established  under  the 
Agreement  on  the  European  Economic  Area,  which  provides  for  the  implementation 
of  the  programmes  by  a  decision  under  that  Agreement.  Third  countries  may  also 
participate  on  the  basis  of  other  legal  instruments.  A  specific  provision  should  be 
introduced  in  this  Decision  to  grant  the  necessary  rights  for  and  access  to  the 
authorising officer responsible, OLAF, EPPO and the European Court of Auditors to 
comprehensively exert their respective competence. 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

No  1316/2013,  (EU)  No  223/2014,  (EU)  No  283/2014,  and  Decision  No  541/2014/EU and  repealing 
Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 ( OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1) 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No 883/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of 
11 September  2013  concerning  investigations  conducted  by  the  European  Anti-Fraud  Office  (OLAF) 
and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)  No 1073/1999  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and 
Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1) 
Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European 
Communities financial interests (OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1) 
Council  Regulation  (Euratom,  EC)  No  2185/96 of  11  November  1996  concerning  on-the-spot  checks 
and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial 
interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2) 
Council  Regulation  (EU)  2017/1939  of  12  October  2017  implementing  enhanced  cooperation  on  the 
establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, p. 1) 
Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight 
against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law (OJ L 198, 28.7.2017, p. 29) 

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(21)  The Commission should be empowered to adopt immediately applicable implementing 
acts, in the case of an emergency which needs to be dealt with immediately, where, in 
duly justified cases,  imperative  grounds  of urgency so require. This  would allow the 
Union  to  react  without  delay  to  large-scale  emergencies  which  might  have  a  high 
impact on human lives, health, environment, property, and cultural heritage, affecting 
at the same time the majority or all Member States. 

(22)  The financial envelope set out in Article 19 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU needs to be 
replaced by the new figures provided for in the Commission’s updated proposal for the 
2021-2027 multiannual financial framework (‘MFF’).  

(23)  While prevention and preparedness measures are essential to enhance the robustness of 
the  Union  in  facing  natural  and  man-made  disasters,  the  occurrence,  timing  and 
magnitude of disasters is by its nature unpredictable. As shown in the recent COVID-
19  crisis,  financial  resources  requested  to  ensure  an  adequate  response  may 
significantly  vary  from  year  to  year  and  should  be  made  available  immediately. 
Reconciling the principle of predictability with the need to react rapidly to new needs 
consequently  means  adapting  the  financial  implementation  of  the  programmes. 
Consequently,  it  is  appropriate  to  authorise  carry-over  of  unused  appropriations, 
limited  to  the  following  year  and  solely  devoted  to  response  action,  in  addition  to 
Article 12(4) of the Financial Regulation. 

(24) 

In accordance with Regulation (European Union Recovery Instrument) and within the 
limits of resources allocated therein, recovery and resilience measures under the Union 
Civil Protection Mechanism should be carried out to address the unprecedented impact 
of the COVID-19 crisis14. Such additional resources should be used in such a way as 
to ensure compliance with the time limits provided for in Regulation [ERI].  

(25)  Annex  I to  Decision No 1313/2013/EU is  not  flexible enough to  allow the Union to 
properly  adjust  investments  in  prevention,  preparedness  and  response  and  thus  it  is 
deleted.  Investment  levels  to  be  allocated  to  the  different  phases  of  the  disaster  risk 
management  cycle  need  to  be  determined  in  advance.  This  absence  of  flexibility 
prevents the Union from being able to react to the unpredictable nature of disasters.  

(26)  Decision No 1313/2013/EU should therefore be amended accordingly, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Decision No 1313/2013/EU is amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 3(2), point (b) is replaced by the following: 

Article 1 

‘(b)  progress  in  increasing  the  level  of  readiness  for  disasters:  measured  by  the 
quantity  of  response  capacities  included  in  the  European  Civil  Protection  Pool  in 
relation  to  the  capacity  goals  referred  to  in  Article  11,  the  number  of  modules 
registered in the CECIS and the number of rescEU capacities established to provide 
assistance in overwhelming situations;’; 

(2) 

Article 6 is amended as follows: 

14 

OJ L ……. 

EN 

12 

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(a) 

In paragraph 1, point (e) is replaced by the following: 

‘(e)  participate,  on  a  voluntary  basis,  in  peer  reviews  on  the  assessment  of  risk 
management capability;’; 

(b) 

 The following point (f) is inserted: 

‘(f) improve disaster loss data  collection at  the national  or appropriate sub-national 
level to ensure evidence-based scenario building as referred to in Article 10(1).’; 

(c)  The following paragraph 5 is added: 

‘5.  The  Commission  shall  define  Union  disaster  resilience  goals  to  support 
prevention and preparedness actions. Disaster resilience goals shall ensure a common 
baseline for maintaining critical societal functions in the face of cascading effects of 
a  high  impact  disaster  and  for  ensuring  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market.  The 
goals shall be based on forward looking scenarios, including the impacts of climate 
change on disaster risk, data on past events and cross-sectoral impact analysis with a 
particular attention to vulnerable people. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt,  where  necessary,  delegated  acts  in 
accordance with Article 30 to define Union disaster resilience goals.’; 

(3) 

Article 7 is replaced by the following: 

‘Article 7 

Emergency Response Coordination Centre 

1. 

 An  Emergency  Response  Coordination  Centre  (‘ERCC’)  is  established.  The 
ERCC shall ensure 24/7 operational capacity, and serve the Member States and 
the Commission in pursuit of the objectives of the Union Mechanism.  

The ERCC shall in particular coordinate, monitor and support in real-time the 
response to emergencies at Union level. The ERCC shall work in close contact 
with  national  crisis  systems,  civil  protection  authorities  and  relevant  Union 
bodies. 

2. 

The ERCC shall have access to operational, analytical, monitoring, information 
management  and  communication  capacities  to  address  a  broad  range  of 
emergencies within and outside the Union.’;  

(4) 

Article 8 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

 point (c) is replaced by the following: 

‘(c) work with Member States  

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

to develop transnational detection and warning systems of Union interest; 

to  better  integrate  existing  systems  following  a  multi-hazard  approach  and 
minimising the lead time to respond to disaster; 

 to  maintain  and  further  develop  the  situational  awareness  and  analysis 
capability; 

to monitor and provide advice based on scientific knowledge on disasters and, 
where relevant, climate change impacts;  

to translate scientific information into operational information;  

EN 

13 

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– 

– 

to  create,  maintain  and  develop  European  scientific  partnerships  to  cover 
natural and man-made hazards, which in turn should promote the inter-linkage 
between  national  early  warning  and  alert  systems  and  their  linkage  to  the 
ERCC and the CECIS;  

international 
the  efforts  of  Member  States  and  mandated 
to  support 
organisations with scientific knowledge, innovative technologies and expertise 
when those bodies further develop their early warning systems.’ ; 

(b)  The following point (l) is inserted: 

‘(l)  support  Member  States  with  targeted  situational  awareness  analysis  including 
through cooperation with early warning services.’; 

(5) 

In Article 9, the following paragraph is added: 

‘10. When emergency services are provided by Galileo, Copernicus, GOVSATCOM, 
or other components of the Space Programme15, each Member State may decide to 
use them.  

Where a Member State decides to use the emergency services by Galileo referred to 
in the first subparagraph, it shall identify and notify to the Commission the national 
authorities authorised to use that emergency service.’; 

(6) 

Article 10 is replaced by the following: 

‘Article 10 

Disaster resilience planning 

‘1.  The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  shall  work  together  to  improve  cross-
sectorial resilience planning, both for natural and man-made disasters likely to have a 
trans-boundary effect, including the adverse effects of climate change. The resilience 
planning  shall  include  scenario-building  at  Union  level  for  disaster  prevention  and 
response based on the risk assessments referred to in point (a) of Article 6(1) and the 
overview  of  risks  referred  to  in  point  (c)  of  Article  5(1),  disaster  risk  management 
planning referred to in point (c) of Article 6(1), disaster loss data referred to in point 
(f) of Article 6(1), asset mapping and the development of plans for the deployment of 
response  capacities, taking into account  the Union disaster resilience  goals  referred 
to Article 6(5). 

2.  The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  shall  identify  and  promote  synergies 
between  civil  protection  assistance  and  humanitarian  aid  funding  provided  by  the 
Union and Member States in disaster resilience planning of response operations for 
humanitarian crises outside the Union.’; 

(7) 

In Article 11, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

‘2.  On  the  basis  of  identified  risks,  resilience  goals  referred  to  in  Article  6(5), 
scenario-building  referred  to  in  Article  10(1)  and  overall  capacities  and  gaps,  the 
Commission  shall  define,  by  means  of  implementing  acts  in  accordance  with  the 
examination procedure referred to in Article 33(2), the types and the number of key 

15 

Regulation  (EU)  2019/…  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  establishing  the  space 
programme  of  the  Union  and  the  European  Union  Agency  for  the  Space  Programme  and  repealing 
Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013, (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision 541/2014/EU  

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response  capacities  required  for  the  European  Civil  Protection  Pool  ("capacity 
goals"). 

The  Commission,  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States,  shall  monitor  progress 
towards  the  capacity  goals  set  out  in  the  implementing  acts  referred  to  in  the  first 
subparagraph of this paragraph, and identify potentially significant response capacity 
gaps  in  the European Civil  Protection Pool.  Where such  gaps have been  identified, 
the Commission shall examine whether the necessary capacities are available to the 
Member  States  outside  the  European  Civil  Protection  Pool.  The  Commission  shall 
encourage  Member  States  to  address  significant  response  capacity  gaps  in  the 
European Civil Protection Pool. It may support Member States in this in accordance 
with Article 20 and Article 21(1)(i) and (2).’; 

(8) 

Article 12 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

 Paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following: 

‘2.  The  Commission  shall  define,  by  means  of  implementing  acts  adopted  in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 33(2), the capacities 
rescEU  shall  consist  of,  based  on  the  resilience  goals  referred  to  in  Article  6(5), 
scenario-building  as  referred  to  in  Article  10(1),  taking  into  account  identified  and 
emerging  risks  and  overall  capacities  and  gaps  at  Union  level,  in  particular  in  the 
areas  of  aerial  forest  fire  fighting,  chemical,  biological,  radiological  and  nuclear 
incidents, and emergency medical response. 

3. rescEU capacities shall be acquired, rented, leased, and/or otherwise contracted by 
the  Commission  or  Member  States.  The  Commission  may  acquire,  rent,  lease  or 
otherwise  contract  rescEU  capacities  to  stock  and  distribute  supplies  or  to  provide 
services to Member States, through procurement procedures in accordance with the 
Union's  financial  rules.  Where  rescEU  capacities  are  acquired,  rented,  leased  or 
otherwise  contracted  by  Member  States,  direct  grants  may  be  awarded  by  the 
Commission to Member States without a call for proposals.  

The  Commission  and  any  Member  States  which  so  desire  may  engage  in  a  joint 
procurement  procedure  conducted  pursuant  to  Article  165  of  the  Financial 
Regulation with a view of acquiring rescEU capacities. 

rescEU capacities shall  be hosted by  the Member States  that  acquire, rent,  lease or 
otherwise  contract  those  capacities.  As  a  way  to  enhance  Union  resilience,  rescEU 
capacities acquired, rented, leased or otherwise contracted by the Commission are to 
be strategically pre-positioned inside the Union. In consultation with Member States, 
the 
rescEU  capacities  acquired,  rented, 
Commission  could  also  be  located  in  third  countries  via  trusted  networks  managed 
by relevant international organisations .’; 

leased  or  otherwise  contracted  by 

(b) 

In paragraph 10, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

‘rescEU  capacities  may  be  deployed  outside  the  Union  in  accordance  with 
paragraphs 6 to 9 of this Article.’; 

(9) 

In Article 15(3), point (b) is replaced by the following: 

‘(b)  collect  and  analyse  validated  information  on  the  situation,  in  conjunction  with 
the  affected  Member  State,  with  the  goal  of  generating  common  situational 
awareness, and disseminate it to the Member States;’; 

(10) 

In Article 17, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following: 

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15 

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 ‘1. The Commission may select, appoint and dispatch an expert team composed of 
experts provided by Member States: 

(a) 

upon request for prevention expertise in accordance with Article 5(2); 

(b)  upon request for preparedness expertise in accordance with Article 13(3); 

(c) 

in the event of a disaster within  the Union as referred to in Article 15(5); 

(d) 

in the event of a disaster outside  the Union as referred to in Article 16(3); 

Experts  from  the  Commission  and  from  other  services  of  the  Union  may  be 
integrated  in  the  team  in  order  to  support  the  team  and  facilitate  liaison  with  the 
ERCC. Experts dispatched by UN agencies or other international organisations may 
be  integrated  in  the  team  in  order  to  strengthen  cooperation  and  facilitate  joint 
assessments. 

Where  operational  effectiveness  so  requires,  the  Commission  may  facilitate 
additional  experts,  technical  and  scientific  support,  through  deployment,  and  reach 
back to specialist scientific, emergency medical and sectoral expertise. 

 2. The procedure for the selection and appointment of experts shall be the following: 

(a)  Member States  shall  nominate experts, under their responsibility,  who can be 

deployed as members of expert teams; 

(b) 

the Commission shall select the experts and the leader for those teams on the 
basis  of  their  qualifications  and  experience,  including  the  level  of  the  Union 
Mechanism  training  undertaken,  previous  experience  of  missions  under  the 
Union Mechanism and other international  relief  work;  the selection shall also 
be based on other criteria, including language skills, to ensure that the team as 
a whole has the available skills needed in the specific situation;  

(c) 

the  Commission  shall  appoint  experts  and  team  leaders  for  the  mission  in 
agreement with their nominating Member State. 

The Commission shall notify Member States of additional expert support provided in 
accordance with paragraph 1.’; 

(11) 

Article 18 is replaced by the following:,  

‘Article 18 

Transport and equipment 

1. In the event of a disaster, either within or outside the Union, the Commission may 
support Member States in  obtaining  access  to  equipment  or transport  and logistical 
resources by:  

(a)  providing  and  sharing  information  on  equipment,  and  transport  and  logistical 
resources that can be made available by Member States, with  a view to  facilitating 
the pooling of such equipment or transport and logistical resources;  

(b) assisting Member States to identify, and facilitating their access to, transport and 
logistical  resources  that  may  be  available  from  other  sources,  including  the 
commercial market; or  

(c) assisting Member States to identify equipment that may be available from other 
sources, including the commercial market.  

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16 

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2. The Commission may complement the transport and logistical resources provided 
by Member States  by providing additional resources necessary  for ensuring a rapid 
response to disasters. 

3. The assistance requested by a Member State or a third country may consist only of 
transport and logistical resources in order to respond to disasters with relief items or 
equipment procured in a third country by the requesting Member State or country.’; 

(12) 

Article 19 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

the following paragraph is inserted:  

‘1a. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Union Mechanism for the 
period 2021 to 2027 shall be EUR 1 268 282 000  in current prices.’;  

(b)  paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

‘2.  Appropriations  resulting  from  reimbursement  made  by  the  beneficiaries  for 
disaster  response  actions  shall  constitute  assigned  revenue  within  the  meaning  of 
Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation.’; 

(c) 

paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: 

‘4.  The  financial  envelope  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  and  1a  shall  be  allocated  to 
cover actions on preventing, preparing for and responding to natural and man-made 
disasters.’; 

(d)  paragraphs 5 and 6 are deleted. 

(13) 

The following Article is inserted: 

‘Article 19a 

Resources from the European Union Recovery Instrument  

Measures  referred  to  in  Article  2  of  Regulation  [ERI]  shall  be  implemented  under 
this  Decision  through  amounts  referred  to  in  point  (iv)  of  Article  3(2)(a)  of  that 
Regulation, subject to its Article 4(4) and (8). 

These amounts shall constitute external assigned revenue in accordance with Article 
21(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council.’; 

(14) 

Article 20a is replaced by the following: 

‘Article 20a 

Visibility and awards 

1The  recipients  of  Union  funding,  as  well  as  the  beneficiaries  of  the  delivered 
assistance,  shall  acknowledge  the  origin  and  ensure  the  visibility  of  the  Union 
funding  (in  particular  when  promoting  the  actions  and  their  results)  by  providing 
coherent,  effective  and  proportionate  targeted  information  to  multiple  audiences, 
including the media and the public. 

Any  assistance  or  funding  provided  under  this  Decision  shall  be  given  appropriate 
visibility.  In  particular,  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  public  communication  for 
operations funded under the Union Mechanism:  

- 

include appropriate references to the Union Mechanism; 

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17 

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provide  visual  branding  on  the  capacities  funded  or  co-funded  by  the  Union 

- 
Mechanism; 

- 

deliver actions with the Union emblem; 

proactively communicate the Union support to national media and stakeholders 

- 
as well as on their own communication channels;  

- 

support the Commission’s communication actions on the operations. 

2. The Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating 
to  this  Decision,  and  its  actions  and  results.  Financial  resources  allocated  to  this 
Decision  shall  also  contribute  to  the  corporate  communication  of  the  political 
priorities  of  the  Union,  as  far  as  they  are  related  to  the  objectives  referred  to  in 
Article 3(1). 

3.  The  Commission  shall  award  medals  in  order  to  recognise  and  honour 
longstanding commitments and extraordinary contributions to Union Mechanism.’; 

(15) 

Article 21 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

In paragraph 1, point (g) is replaced by the following: 

‘(g)  developing  resilience  planning  under  the  Union  Mechanism,  as  referred  to  in 
Article 10.’; 

(b)  Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

‘3. The financial assistance for the action referred to in point (j) of paragraph 1 shall 
cover  all  costs  necessary  to  ensure  the  availability  and  deployability  of  rescEU 
capacities under the Union Mechanism in accordance with the second subparagraph 
of this paragraph. The categories of eligible costs necessary to ensure the availability 
and deployability of rescEU capacities shall be as set out in Annex Ia. 

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 30 
to amend Annex Ia regarding the categories of eligible costs. 

The financial assistance referred to in this paragraph may be implemented by multi-
annual  work  programmes.  For  actions  extending  beyond  one  year,  budgetary 
commitments may be broken down into annual instalments.’; 

(c) 

paragraph 4 is deleted. 

(16) 

In Article 22, point (b) is replaced by the following:  

‘(b)  in  the  event  of  a  disaster,  supporting  Member  States  in  obtaining  access  to 
equipment and transport and logistical resources as specified in Article 23;’; 

(17) 

Article 23 is replaced by the following:  

‘Article 23 

Eligible actions linked to equipment and operations 

1. The following actions shall be eligible for financial assistance in order to allow access to 
equipment and transport and logistical resources under the Union Mechanism: 

(a) 

providing  and  sharing  information  on  equipment  and  transport  and  logistical 
resources that Member States decide to make available, with a view to facilitating the 
pooling of such equipment or transport and logistical resources; 

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(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(i) 

(ii) 

(iii) 

(iv) 

(v) 

assisting  Member  States  to  identify,  and  facilitating  their  access  to,  transport  and 
logistical  resources  that  may  be  available  from  other  sources,  including  the 
commercial market; 

assisting  Member  States  to  identify  equipment  that  may  be  available  from  other 
sources, including the commercial market;  

financing transport and logistical resources necessary for ensuring a rapid response to 
disasters.  Such  actions  shall  be  eligible  for  financial  support  only  if  the  following 
criteria are met: 

a  request  for  assistance  has  been  made  under  the  Union  Mechanism  in  accordance 
with Articles 15 and 16; 

the  additional  transport  and  logistical  resources  are  necessary  for  ensuring  the 
effectiveness of disaster response under the Union Mechanism; 

the  assistance  corresponds  to  the  needs  identified  by  the  ERCC  and  is  delivered  in 
accordance  with  the  recommendations  given  by  the  ERCC  on  the  technical 
specifications, quality, timing and modalities for delivery; 

the  assistance  has  been  accepted  by  a  requesting  country,  directly  or  through  the 
United  Nations  or  its  agencies,  or  a  relevant  international  organisation,  under  the 
Union Mechanism;  

the  assistance  complements,  for  disasters  in  third  countries,  any  overall  Union 
humanitarian response. 

1a. The amount of Union financial assistance for the transport of capacities not pre-committed 
to  the  European  Civil  Protection  Pool  and  deployed  in  the  event  of  a  disaster  or  imminent 
disaster inside or outside the Union and for any other transport support needed to respond to a 
disaster shall not exceed 75 % of the total eligible cost. 

2.  The  amount  of  Union  financial  assistance  for  capacities  pre-committed  to  the  European 
Civil Protection Pool shall not exceed 75 % of the costs of operating the capacities, including 
transport, in the event of a disaster or imminent disaster inside or outside the Union. 

4. The Union financial assistance for transport and logistical resources may, in addition, cover 
a  maximum  of  100  %  of  the  total  eligible  costs  specified  in  points  (a)  to  (d),  where  this  is 
necessary to make the pooling of Member States' assistance operationally effective and where 
the costs relate to one of the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

short-term  rental  of  warehousing  capacity  to  temporarily  store  the  assistance  from 
Member States with a view to facilitating their coordinated transport; 

transport  from  the  Member  State  offering  the  assistance  to  the  Member  State 
facilitating its coordinated transport; 

repackaging  of  Member  States'  assistance  to  make  maximum  use  of  available 
transport capacities or to meet specific operational requirements; or 

local transport, transit and warehousing of pooled assistance with a view to ensuring 
a coordinated delivery at the final destination in the requesting country. 

4a. When rescEU capacities are used for national purposes in accordance with Article 12(5), 
all costs, including maintenance and repair costs, shall be covered by the Member State using 
the capacities. 

4b.  In  the  event  of  deployment  of  rescEU  capacities  under  the  Union  Mechanism,  Union 
financial assistance shall cover 75 % of the operational costs. 

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By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, Union financial assistance shall cover 100 
% of the operational costs of rescEU capacities necessary for low probability disasters with a 
high impact, when those capacities are deployed under the Union Mechanism. 

4c.  For  deployments  outside  the  Union,  as  referred  to  in  Article  12(10),  Union  financial 
assistance shall cover 100 % of the operational costs. 

4d. When the Union financial assistance referred to in this Article does not cover 100 % of 
costs,  the  remaining  amount  of  the  costs  shall  be  borne  by  the  requester  of  the  assistance, 
unless  otherwise  agreed  with  the  Member  State  offering  assistance  or  the  Member  State 
hosting the rescEU capacities. 

4e. For the deployment of rescEU capacities, Union financing may cover 100% of any direct 
costs necessary for the transport of cargo, logistical means and services, within the Union, and 
to the Union from third countries 

5. In case of pooling of transport operations involving several Member States, a Member State 
may take the lead in requesting Union financial support for the entire operation. 

6.  When  a  Member  State  requests  the  Commission  to  contract  transport  services,  the 
Commission shall request partial reimbursement of the costs according to the funding rates set 
out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4. 

6a.  Without  prejudice  to  paragraphs  2  and  3,  Union  financial  support  for  the  transport  of 
assistance,  as  referred  to  in  paragraph  1a,  needed  in  environmental  disasters  in  which  the 
‘polluter  pays  principle’  applies  may  cover  a  maximum  of  100%  of  the  total  eligible  costs. 
The following conditions shall apply: 

(a) the assistance is requested by the affected Member State based on a duly justified needs 
assessment; 

(b)  the  affected  Member  State  takes  all  necessary  steps  to  request  and  obtain  compensation 
from the polluter, in accordance with all the applicable international, Union or national legal 
provisions; 

(c)  upon  receiving  compensation  from  the  polluter,  the  affected  Member  State  shall 
immediately reimburse the Union. 

7. The following costs shall be eligible for Union financial support for transport and logistical 
resources  under  this  Article:  all  costs  relating  to  the  movement  of  transport  and  logistical 
resources,  including  the  costs  of  all  services,  fees,  logistical  and  handling  costs,  fuel  and 
possible accommodation costs as well as other indirect costs such as taxes, duties in general 
and transit costs. 

8. Transport costs may consist of unit costs, lump sums or flat rates, determined per category 
of cost.’ 

(18) 

Article 25 is replaced by the following: 

‘Article 25 

Types of financial intervention and implementing procedures 

The Commission shall implement the Union's financial support in accordance 

1. 
with the Financial Regulation. 

2. 

The Commission shall implement the Union's  financial support in accordance 
with the Financial Regulation in direct management or in indirect management 
with bodies referred to in Article 62(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation. 

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3. 

4. 

5. 

Financial support under this Decision may take any of the forms laid down in 
the  Financial  Regulation,  in  particular  the  form  of  grants,  procurement  or 
contributions to trust funds. 

In  order  to  implement  this  Decision,  the  Commission  shall  adopt  annual  or 
multi-annual  work  programmes,  by  means  of  implementing  acts.  Those 
implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination 
procedure  referred  to  in  Article  33(2).  The  annual  or  multi-annual  work 
programmes  shall  set  out  the  objectives  pursued,  the  expected  results,  the 
method  of  implementation  and  their  total  amount.  They  shall  also  contain  a 
description of actions to be financed, an indication of the amount allocated to 
each  action  and  an  indicative  implementation  timetable.  With  regard  to  the 
financial support referred to in Article 28(2), the annual or multi-annual work 
programmes  shall  describe  the  actions  foreseen  for  countries  referred  to 
therein. 

However  no  annual  or  multi-annual  work  programmes  shall  be  required  for 
actions  falling  under  the  disaster  response  laid  down  in  Chapter  IV,  which 
cannot be provided for in advance. 

In  addition  to  Article  12(4)  of  the  Financial  Regulation,  commitment  and 
payment appropriations, which have not been used by the end of the financial 
year  for  which  they  were  entered  in  the  annual  budget  shall  be  automatically 
carried  over  and  may  be  committed  and  paid  up  to  31  December  of  the 
following  year.  The  carried-over  appropriations  shall  be  used  solely  for 
response  actions.  The  carried-over  appropriations  shall  be  used  first  in  the 
following financial year.’ 

(19) 

Article 27 is replaced by the following: 

‘Article 27 

Protection of the financial interests of the Union 

Where a third country participates in the Union Mechanism by a decision under an 
international agreement or by virtue of any other legal instrument, the third country 
shall  grant  the  necessary  rights  and  access  required  for  the  authorising  officer 
responsible,  OLAF  and  the  European  Court  of  Auditors  to  comprehensively  exert 
their respective competences. In the case of OLAF, such rights shall include the right 
to carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, as provided 
for in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013.’ 

(20) 

Article 30 is amended as follows: 

(a)  Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

‘2.  The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  referred  to  in  Article  6(5)  and  in  the  second 
subparagraph  of  Article  21(3)  shall  be  conferred  on  the  Commission  until  31 
December 2027.’ 

(b)  paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: 

‘4.  The  delegation  of  power  referred  to  in  Article  6(5)  and  in  the  second 
subparagraph  of  Article  21(3)  may  be  revoked  at  any  time  by  the  European 
Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation 
of  the  power  specified  in  that  decision.  It  shall  take  effect  the  day  following  the 
publication of the Decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later 

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date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in 
force.’ 

(c) 

paragraph 7 is replaced by the following: 

‘7. A delegated  act  adopted pursuant  to  Article 6(5) or the second subparagraph of 
Article 21(3) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by 
the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification 
of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that 
period,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  have  both  informed  the 
Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months 
at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.’ 

(21) 

In Article 32 (1), point (i) is replaced by the following : 

 ‘(i) the  organisation  of  support  for  the  transport  of  assistance,  as  provided  for  in 
Articles 18 and 23;’; 

(22) 

In Article 33, the following paragraph is added:  

‘3.  On  duly  justified  imperative  grounds  of  urgency,  the  Commission  shall  adopt 
immediately applicable implementing acts in accordance with the procedure referred 
to in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011’; 

(23) 

(24) 

Annex I is deleted. 

The title of Annex Ia is replaced by the following:  

‘Categories of eligible costs in accordance with Article 21(3)’ 

Article 2 

Entry into force 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official 
Journal of the European Union. 

However, points (a) and (c) of Article 1(12) shall apply from 1 January 2021. 

Article 3 

Addressees 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT  

1. 

1.1. 

1.2. 

1.3. 

1.4. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE ............................................... 24 

Title of the proposal/initiative .................................................................................... 24 

Policy area(s) concerned (Programme cluster).......................................................... 24 

The proposal/initiative relates to: ............................................................................... 24 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative ............................................................................ 24 

1.4.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for 

roll-out of the implementation of the initiative .......................................................... 24 

1.4.2.  Added value of Union involvement. .......................................................................... 25 

1.4.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past ................................................ 26 

1.4.4.  Compatibility and possible synergy with other appropriate instruments ................... 26 

1.5. 

1.6. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.2.1. 

2.2.2. 

Duration and financial impact .................................................................................... 28 

Management mode(s) planned ................................................................................... 28 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES................................................................................. 29 

Monitoring and reporting rules .................................................................................. 29 

Management and control system(s) ........................................................................... 29 

Justification of the management mode(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s), 
the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed ........................................ 29 

Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up 
to mitigate them.......................................................................................................... 29 

2.2.3.  Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of "control 

costs ÷ value of the related funds managed"), and assessment of the expected levels 
of risk of error (at payment & at closure) .................................................................. 30 

2.3. 

3. 

3.1. 

Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities .............................................................. 30 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE ............ 31 

Heading of the multiannual financial framework and new expenditure budget line(s) 
proposed ..................................................................................................................... 31 

3.2. 

Estimated impact on expenditure ............................................................................... 32 

3.2.1.  Summary of estimated impact on expenditure ........................................................... 32 

3.2.2.  Summary of estimated impact on appropriations of an administrative nature........... 35 

3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue ....................................................................................... 1 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

1.1. 

Title of the proposal/initiative  

Proposal  for  a  Decision  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  amending 
Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism. 

1.2. 

Policy area(s) concerned (Programme cluster) 

14 Crisis Response 

This  proposal  concerns  the  field  of  civil  protection,  and  intends  to  strengthen  the 
Union Civil Protection Mechanism (Union Mechanism). 

Under  the  new  multiannual  financial  framework  proposal,  funding  related  to  civil 
protection  has  been  subsumed  into  one  single  heading:  Heading  5  ‘Resilience, 
Security and Defence’. The specific cluster is ‘Resilience and Crisis Response’, Title 
14,  Chapter  02.  This  cluster  will  encompass  both  the  internal  and  external 
dimensions of civil protection. 

1.3. 

The proposal/initiative relates to:  

 a new action  
 a new action following a pilot project/preparatory action16  

x the extension of an existing action  

 a merger or redirection of one or more actions towards another/a new action  

1.4. 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative  

1.4.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for 

roll-out of the implementation of the initiative 

The proposal is intended to introduce some targeted changes to Council Decision No. 
1313/2013/EU  (‘the  Decision’)  on  a  Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  (‘Union 
Mechanism’),  under  which 
the  European  Union  supports,  coordinates  and 
supplements the action of Member States in the field of civil protection to prevent, 
prepare  for  and  respond  to  natural  and  man-made  disasters  within  and  outside  the 
Union. Building on the principles of solidarity and shared responsibility, the overall 
objective of this proposal is to ensure that the Union can provide a better crisis and 
emergency support to its citizens in Europe and beyond. 

The Decision amends an existing action (Union Mechanism) and is to be considered 
in parallel to the pending proposal also amending the Union Mechanism, which was 
adopted by the Commission in 201917. 

The  COVID-19  pandemic  has  shown  the  need  for  better  European  Union 
preparedness  for  future  large-scale  emergencies,  proving  the  limitations  of  the 
current  framework.  In  this  light,  it  is  considered  necessary  to  propose  additional 
modifications to the existing legal framework to strengthen the Union Mechanism . 

16 
17 

As referred to in Article 58(2)(a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation. 
COM(2019) 125 final of 7.03.2019 

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This initiative refers to the financial envelope available to the Union Mechanism in 
the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework.  

1.4.2.  Added value of Union involvement. 

Reasons for action at European level (ex-ante) 

The Union Mechanism has proven to be a useful tool to mobilise and coordinate the 
assistance provided by the Participating States responding to crises inside and outside 
the Union, constituting a tangible proof of European solidarity. However, the Covid-
19 outbreak and the operational lessons learnt from other crises, have pointed out to 
the  need  to  further  reinforce  the  Union  Mechanism.  In  concrete  terms,  the  changes 
contained in this proposal are aimed at achieving the following objectives: 

Reinforce  a  cross-sectoral  and  societal  preparedness  approach  to  trans-
a) 
boundary  disaster  risk  management,  including  establishing  a  baseline  and  planning 
elements at a European level. 

ensure that the Commission is able to directly procure an adequate safety net of 

b) 
rescEU capacities; 

c) 
provide the Commission with the logistical capacity to provide multi-purpose 
air  services  in  case  of  emergencies  and  to  ensure  timely  transport  and  delivery  of 
assistance; 

d) 

design a more flexible system for response to large-scale emergencies;  

enhance 

the  Emergency  Response  Coordination  Centre’s  operational 
e) 
coordination and monitoring role in support of the EU’s swift and effective response 
to a broad range of crises inside and outside the Union; 

enable  stronger 

f) 
simplification of budget implementation; 

investment 

in  preparedness  at  EU 

level  and  further 

g) 
enable  the  financing  of  operations  of  efficient  and  scalable  sustainable 
recovery and resilience measures underof the Union Civil Protection Mechanism by 
external  assigned  revenues  through  financing  made  available  under  the  draft 
Regulation    establishing  a  European  Union  Recovery  Instrument  to  support  the 
recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic (COM(2020)441 final). 

The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States 
acting  on  their  own.  EU  action  in  this  field  involves  managing  situations  with  a 
strong  trans-boundary  and  multi-country  components,  which  necessarily  require 
overall coordination and concerted action beyond the national level.  

As  shown  by  the  COVID-19  outbreak,  in  case  of  serious  emergencies  where  the 
Union  as  a  whole  is  concerned  by  the  scale  and  the  scope  of  the  emergency,  a 
collective,  coordinated  and  urgent  response  is  needed  to  avoid  a  fragmented 
approach  which  would  limit  the  effectiveness  of  the  Union  response.  Due  to  the 
pressing  demands  to  mobilise  resources  in  sufficient  scale  and  deploy  them  across  
the Member States on the basis of their needs, it is necessary that the Union acts in 
cooperation  with  Member  States.  The  global  dimension  and  the  effects  of  these 
emergencies  indeed  require  a  coordinated  action,  which  ensures  the  rapid  and 
effective mitigation of disasters, alongside with the prevention of their resurgence. 

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Taking  into  account  the  benefits  in  terms  of  reducing  the  loss  of  human  life, 
environmental,  economic  and  material  damage,  the  proposal  brings  clear  Union 
added value. 

1.4.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

The  Union  Mechanism  has  showed  encouraging  results  in  terms  of  performance  in 
each  of  the  three  pillars  (prevention/preparedness/response)  so  far.  It  is  viewed 
positively in  general  by  the Participating States and by the main stakeholders. This 
was  the  overall  conclusion  from  the  interim  evaluation  of  the  Union  Mechanism 
(2014-2016),  which  was  conducted  by  an  external  consultant  and  published  in 
August 2017. 

Another  lesson  from  the  interim  evaluation,  as  well  as  from  the  report  of  the 
European  Court  of  Auditors18,  was  the  need  to  improve  the  Union  Mechanism’s 
results  monitoring  framework.  This  includes  better  measurability  in  the  form  of 
possible quantitative indicators and baselines to help focus more on the impact over 
time.  The  Commission  has  introduced  measurable  output  indicators  for  all  actions. 
This is the first step in a longer-term process of ensuring financial assistance under 
the Mechanism is framed by a more results-focused approach. 

Another relevant source on which the Commission has based its proposal to improve 
the  current  functioning  of  the  Union  Mechanism  is  the  Union  overview  of  risks19. 
National  risk  assessments  submitted  by  Member  States  were  used  to  produce  this 
overview based on the existing legislation. 

The Commission also builds upon the experience gained: 

– 

– 

– 

in  emergencies  handled  by  the  Union  Mechanism  since  its  creation  in  2001, 
and notably on the lessons identified during the Covid-19 outbreak; 

as a result of the projects financed within the framework of the calls launched 
since 2013 on preparedness and prevention; and 

as  a  result  of  the  pilot  project  financed  within  the  framework  of  the  call 
launched in 2008 to step up cooperation between Member States on combating 
forest fires. 

1.4.4.  Compatibility and possible synergy with other appropriate instruments 

The  actions  envisaged  under  the  revised  Union  Mechanism  are  aligned  with  the 
overall  objective  of  the  Union  to  ensure  that  all  relevant  Union  policies  and 
instruments contribute to reinforcing the Union’s capacities in terms of disaster risk 
management, from response and recovery to disaster prevention. 

In  particular,  special  attention  is  being  given  to  ensuring  close  coordination  and 
consistency with actions carried out under other EU policies and instruments aiming 
in particular at preserving people’s lives, preventing and alleviating human suffering 
and protecting human dignity.  

18 

19 

European  Court  of  Auditors,  ‘Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism:  the  coordination  of  responses  to 
disasters outside the EU has been broadly effective’, Special Report no. 33, 2016. 
Staff  Working  Document,  ‘Overview  of  Natural  and  Man-made  Disaster  Risks  the  European  Union 
may face’, SWD (2017)176 final, 23.5.2017. 

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Specifically  important  is  the  coordination  with  the  new  Union  EU4Health 
programme.  Where  the  Union  Mechanism  will  focus  on  the  direct  crisis  response 
capacities  which  will  have  to  be  immediately  ready  and  available  in  case  of  an 
emergency,  the  EU4Health  programme  will  include  structural,  large-scale  reserves, 
including a reserve of ready medical staff and experts, and the underlying resilience 
of  the  health-care  systems.  Those  resources  will  be  crucial  for  a  coordinated  crisis 
response at Union level. 

Consistency with: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian 
aid; 

Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 27 June 2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency; 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the 
European Union Solidarity Fund; 

Regulation (EC) No 1717/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 15 November 2006 establishing an Instrument for Stability; 

Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism; 

Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of  17  December  2013  laying  down  common  provisions  on  the  European 
Regional  Development  Fund,  the  European  Social  Fund,  the  Cohesion  Fund, 
the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  and  the  European 
Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  and  laying  down  general  provisions  on  the 
European  Regional  Development  Fund,  the  European  Social  Fund,  the 
Cohesion  Fund  and  the  European  Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  and  repealing 
Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320). 

Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 3 April 2014 establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps 
(‘EU Aid Volunteers initiative’); 

Council  Regulation  (EU)  2016/369  of  15  March  2016  on  the  provision  of 
emergency support within the Union. 

Council  Regulation  (EU)  2020/521  activating  the  emergency  support  under 
Regulation (EU) 2016/369, and amending its provisions taking into account the 
COVID‐ 19 outbreak. 

Council Regulation (EU) XXX/XX  establishing a European Union Recovery 
Instrument to support the recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic 

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1.5. 

Duration and financial impact  

X limited duration  

–  X 

in effect from 1/01/2021 to 31/12/2027  

–  X  Financial impact from 2021 to 2027 for commitment appropriations and from 

2021 to 2032 for payment appropriations.  

 unlimited duration 

–  Implementation with a start-up period from YYYY to YYYY, 

–  followed by full-scale operation. 
1.6.  Management mode(s) planned20  

X Direct management by the Commission 

–  X by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;  

–    by the executive agencies  

 Shared management with the Member States  

X Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to: 

–   third countries or the bodies they have designated; 

–  X international organisations and their agencies (to be specified); 

–  X the EIB and the European Investment Fund; 

–   bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of the Financial Regulation; 

–  X public law bodies; 

–  X bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the extent that 

they provide adequate financial guarantees; 

–   bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with 
the  implementation  of  a  public-private  partnership  and  that  provide  adequate 
financial guarantees; 

–    persons  entrusted  with  the  implementation  of  specific  actions  in  the  CFSP 

pursuant to Title V of the TEU, and identified in the relevant basic act. 

COMMENTS: 

Introducing the possibility of the indirect management mode of execution of the 
Union Mechanism budget alongside the direct management mode used until now 
provides  an  additional  instrument  to  optimise  budget  implementation.  The 
variety of bodies as per list will enhance overall efficiency in absorbing Union 
funds  in  light  of  the  increased  budget.  Given  the  context  of  civil  protection 
policy which often deals with unpredictable events (different kind of man-made 
and natural disasters), it is essential to guarantee an inclusive (in terms of actors 
involved) and flexible MFF framework. 

20 

Details of management modes and references to the Financial Regulation may be found on the 
BudgWeb site: 
https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/budgweb/EN/man/budgmanag/Pages/budgmanag.aspx  

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2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  

Specify frequency and conditions. 

Actions  and  measures  receiving  financial  assistance  under  these  Decisions  shall  be 
monitored regularly. 

The  Commission  is  required  to  evaluate  the  Union  Mechanism  in  accordance  with 
Article 34 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU. 

2.2.  Management and control system(s)  

2.2.1. 

Justification of the management mode(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s), 
the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed 

Financial assistance on prevention and preparedness under the Union Mechanism is 
spent in accordance with an annual work programme adopted by the Civil Protection 
the 
Committee.  The  Commission 
implementation of the work programme.  

the  Committee  on 

regularly 

informs 

Implementation will be done through  grants  and contracts  with  payment  modalities 
based on the experience built-up in the past.  

Based  on  the  lessons  learned  from  the  implementation  of  the  Union  Mechanism  in 
the  past  and  to  ensure  an  effective  implementation  of  the  objectives  of  the  Union 
Mechanism, the Commission intends to implement the actions in direct and indirect 
management by fully taking into consideration the principles of economy, efficiency 
and best value for money.  

2.2.2. 

Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up 
to mitigate them 

The  European  Commission's  existing  internal  control  system  applies  to  ensure  that 
funds  available  under  the  Union  Mechanism  are  used  properly  and  in  line  with 
appropriate legislation.  

The current system is setup as follows: 

1.  The  internal  control  team  within  the  lead  service  (Directorate-General  for 
European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations /DG ECHO) focuses on 
compliance with administrative procedures and legislation in force in the area of civil 
protection.  The  Internal  Control  Framework  of  the  Commission  is  used  for  this 
purpose.  

2.  Regular  audit  of  grants  and  contracts  by  external  auditors,  which  are  awarded 
under  the  civil  protection  budget  are  fully  incorporated  in  DG  ECHO  annual  audit 
plan.  

3. Evaluation of overall activities by external evaluators. 

Actions performed may be audited by the European fraud office OLAF and the Court 
of Auditors. 

On supervision and monitoring, the extensive experience acquired by implementing 
the  humanitarian  aid  instrument  will  be  applied,  with  the  necessary  changes,  to 
implementing the Union Mechanism under indirect management. 

EN 

29 

  EN 

2.2.3.  Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of "control 
costs ÷ value of the related funds managed"), and assessment of the expected levels 
of risk of error (at payment & at closure)  

The  estimated  cost  of  DG  ECHO’s  control  strategy  represents  0.3%  of  indirect 
management of the 2019 budget and 0.4 % of direct management of the 2019 budget. 
The main components of this indicator are:  

– the total  staff costs of DG  ECHO  experts in  the field, plus  those of the financial 
and operational units multiplied by the estimated portion of time dedicated to quality 
assurance, control and monitoring activities;  

–  the  total  resources  in  DG  ECHO's  external  audit  sector  devoted  to  audits  and 
verifications.  

Taking  into  account  the  low  cost  of  such  controls  together  with  the  quantifiable 
(corrections  and  recoveries)  and  unquantifiable  (deterrent  effect  and  quality 
insurance  effect  of  controls)  benefits  linked  to  these,  the  Commission  is  able  to 
conclude  that  the  quantifiable  and  unquantifiable  benefits  from  controls  largely 
outweigh the limited cost of these.  

With  regard  to  the  entrusted  entities  implementing  Union  funding  under  indirect 
management  mode,  the  Commission  contributes  up  to  7%  of  their  direct  eligible 
costs to ensure supervision and management of the Union funding.  

This  is  confirmed  by  the  0.87%  multi-annual  residual  error  rate  reported  by  the 
Commission in 2019 for its humanitarian aid and civil protection department. 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities  

Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures, e.g. from the Anti-Fraud Strategy. 

DG ECHO’s anti-fraud strategy, in line with the Commission's anti-fraud strategy, is 
used in order to ensure that:  

–  DG  ECHO’s  internal  anti-fraud  related  controls  are  fully  aligned  with  the 
Commission’s anti-fraud strategy; AFS;  

– DG ECHO’s fraud risk management approach is geared to identify fraud risk areas 
and adequate responses.  

The systems used for spending Union funds in third countries enable relevant data to 
be  retrieved  so  that  this  data  can  be  fed  into  fraud  risk  management  (e.g.  to  detect 
double funding).  

Where  necessary,  networking  groups  and  adequate  IT  tools  dedicated  to  analysing 
fraud cases related to the sector may be set up. 

EN 

30 

  EN 

3. 

3.1. 

Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

Heading  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  new  expenditure  budget 
line(s) proposed  

Budget line 

Type of  
expenditure 

Contribution  

Number 14: Crisis Response 
Heading 5: Security & Defence 

Diff./Non-
diff.21 

from 
EFTA 
countries22 

from 
candidate 
countries23 

from 
third 
countrie
s24 

within the 
meaning of 
Article [21(2)(b)] 
of the Financial 
Regulation  

5 

5 

14  01  01  Union  civil  protection 
mechanisms – Support expenditure 

14 02 01 – Union civil protection 
mechanism: Prevention and 
preparedness, and response 

Non-diff. 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

Diff 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

21 
22 

23 

24 

Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations. 
EFTA: European Free Trade Association. EFTA countries that are part of the EEA can join the Union 
Civil Protection Mechanism as ‘Participating States’ as provided for in Article 28(1)a of Decision No 
1313/2013/EU. 
Candidate  countries  and,  where  applicable,  potential  candidates  from  the  Western  Balkans.  These 
countries  can  join  the  Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  as  ‘Participating  States’  as  provided  for  in 
Article 28(1)b of Decision No 1313/2013/EU. 
For the purpose of this table, the reference to third countries should be understood as ‘other European 
countries’  that  are  not  yet  part  of  the  Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism,  but  that  might  join  in  the 
future as provided for in Article 28(1)a of Decision No 1313/2013/EU. No contributions are expected 
from third countries other than the ones specified above. 

EN 

31 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
3.2. 

Estimated impact on expenditure  

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on expenditure  

This table presents the financial envelope allocated to the Union Civil protection Mechanism for the 2021-2027 period under article 19(1a). This 
table replaces the one presented in the Legislative Financial Statement of proposal COM (2019) 125 final. 

The indicative breakdown of the expenditure from Heading 5 is as follows: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

5 

Resilience, Security & Defence 

14  02  01  Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism 
Prevention and Preparedness, and Response 

Commitments 

Payments 

Appropriations of an administrative nature 
financed from the envelope of the programme25  

Commitments = 
Payments 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

TOTAL appropriations for the envelope 
of the programme 

Commitments 

=1+3 

Payments 

=2+3 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Post 2027 

TOTAL 

89,703 

94,744 

101,055 

106,454 

282,036 

292,363 

298,210 

1.264,565 

25,613 

47,027 

72,889 

87,778 

143,087 

187,377 

236,920 

463,876 

1262,565 

0,500 

0,510 

0,520 

0,531 

0,541 

0,552 

0,563 

3,717 

 90,203  

 95,254  

 101,575  

 106,985  

 282,577  

 292,915  

 298,773  

1.268,282 

 26,113  

 47,537  

 73,409  

 88,309  

 143,628  

 187,929  

 237,483  

 463,876  

 1.268,282  

25 

Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, 
direct research. 

EN 

32 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
In addition  to  the financial envelope defined in  Article 19 (1a), EUR  2  187 620 000 (in current  prices)  will be available as external  assigned 
revenues, within the meaning of Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation as financing from the European Union Recovery Instrument. Out of 
this up to EUR  22 580 000 may be dedicated to administrative expenditure, including external staff costs. 

The indicative breakdown of the expenditure from external assigned revenue is as follows: 

Union Mechanism/RescEU 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Post 2027 

TOTAL 

Operational expenditure from EURI 
external assigned revenues 

Commitmen
ts 

Administrative support expenditure 
from EURI external assigned revenues 

Payments 

Commitments 
= Payments 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Total external assigned revenues 

Commitmen
ts 

=1+3 

525,290 

535,800 

546,510 

557,440 

2165,040 

150,192 

270,024 

409,595 

320,738 

209,535 

72,916 

9,477 

722,563 

2165,040 

 3,040  

 3,100  

 3,160  

 3,220  

 3,290  

 3,350  

 3,420  

 22,580  

 528,330  

 538,900  

 549,670  

 560,660  

 3,290  

 3,350  

 3,420  

2.187,620  

Payments 

=2+3 

 153,232  

 273,124  

 412,755  

 323,958  

 212,825  

 76,266  

 12,897  

 722,563  

 2.187,620  

EN 

33 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
  
 
 
 
Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

7 

‘Administrative expenditure’ 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Human resources  
Other administrative expenditure  
TOTAL appropriations under HEADING 
7 of the multiannual financial framework 

xx 

TOTAL appropriations  
across HEADINGS  
of the multiannual financial framework  

Commitments 

Payments 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Post 
2027 

TOTAL 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

10,500 

10,500 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

91,703 

96,754 

103,075 

108,485 

284,077 

294,415 

300,273 

Post 
2027 

TOTAL 

1.278,782 

27,613 

49,037 

74,909 

89,809 

145,128 

189,429 

238,983 

463,876 

1.278,782 

EN 

34 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.2. 

Summary of estimated impact on appropriations of an administrative nature 

–    The  proposal/initiative  does  not  require  the  use  of  appropriations  of  an 

administrative nature  

–  X  The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative 

nature, as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Years 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

HEADING 7 
of the multiannual 
financial framework 

Human resources  

Other administrative 
expenditure  

Subtotal HEADING 7 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

Outside HEADING 726 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

Human resources2728  

Other expenditure  
of an administrative 
nature 

Other expenditure  
of an administrative 
nature 

Subtotal  
outside HEADING 7 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

TOTAL 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

10,500 

xxx 

xxx 

xxx 

xxx 

xxx 

xxx 

xxx 

xxx 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

1,500 

10,500 

1,600 

1,600 

1,600 

1,600 

1,600 

1,600 

1,600 

11,200 

0,500 

0,510 

0,520 

0,531 

0,541 

0,552 

0,563 

3,717 

1,440 

1,500 

1,560 

1,620 

1,690 

1,750 

1,820 

11,380 

3,540 

3,610 

3,680 

3,751 

3,831 

3,902 

3,983 

26,297 

5,040 

5,110 

5,180 

5,251 

5,331 

5,402 

5,483 

36,797 

The  appropriations  required  for  human  resources  and  other  expenditure  of  an  administrative  nature  will  be  met  by 
appropriations from the DG that are already assigned  to management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the 
DG,  together  if  necessary  with  any  additional  allocation  which  may  be  granted  to  the  managing  DG  under  the  annual 
allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints. 

26 
27 
28 

Assigned revenue 
Assigned revenue. 
Assigned revenue. 

EN 

35 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.2.2.1.  Estimated requirements of human resources 

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources.  

–  X  The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  human  resources,  as  explained 

below: 

Estimate to be expressed in full time equivalent units 

Years 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

 Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff) 

Headquarters and Commission’s 
Representation Offices 

Delegations 

Research 

10 

- 

- 

10 

- 

- 

10 

- 

- 

10 

- 

- 

10 

- 

- 

10 

- 

- 

10 

- 

- 

 External staff (in Full Time Equivalent unit: FTE) - AC, AL, END, INT and JED 29 
Heading 7 

- at Headquarters 

91 

92 

93 

94 

94 

94 

94 

Financed from 
HEADING 7 of 
the multiannual 
financial 
framework  

- in Delegations  

Financed from the 
envelope of the 
programme 30 

- at Headquarters 

- in Delegations  

Research 

Other (assigned revenue) 

TOTAL 

- 

- 

- 

- 

20 

30 

- 

- 

- 

- 

20 

30 

- 

- 

- 

- 

20 

30 

- 

- 

- 

- 

20 

30 

- 

- 

- 

- 

20 

30 

- 

- 

- 

- 

20 

30 

- 

- 

- 

- 

20 

30 

The human resources required will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to management of the 
action  and/or  have  been  redeployed  within  the  DG,  together  if  necessary  with  any  additional  allocation  which 
may  be  granted  to  the  managing  DG  under  the  annual  allocation  procedure  and  in  the  light  of  budgetary 
constraints.  

Description of tasks to be carried out: 

Officials and temporary staff 

This  table  shows  the  figures  of  the  staffing  needs  in  addition  to  those  foreseen  in 
proposal COM(2019) 125 final . This request is justified by the significant increase in the 
budget proposed and the need to manage new activities or higher complexity. 

The FTEs sought will work on policy development; legal issues, with particular focus on 
procurement matters; financial management; audit and evaluation. 

External staff 

The FTEs sought will work on policy development; legal issues, with particular focus on 
procurement matters; financial management; audit and evaluation. 

29 

30 

AC=  Contract  Staff;  AL  =  Local  Staff;  END  =  Seconded  National  Expert;  INT  =  agency  staff; 
JPD= Junior Professionals in Delegations.  
Sub-ceiling for external staff covered by operational appropriations (former ‘BA’ lines). 

EN 

36 

  EN 

 
                                                 
3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue  

–  X  The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue. 

–    The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact: 

–   

–   

on own resources  

on other revenue 

please indicate, if the revenue is assigned to expenditure lines  

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Impact of the proposal/initiative31 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Budget revenue line: 

Article …………. 

For assigned revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected. 

Other  remarks  (e.g.  method/formula  used  for  calculating  the  impact  on  revenue  or  any  other 
information).  

31 

As regards traditional own resources (customs duties, sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net 
amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 20 % for collection costs. 

EN 

37 

  EN