The Community Civil Protection Action Programme

Action Programme for Civil Protection

The Community action programme in the field of civil protection (1999/847/EC OJ L327/53), adopted in 1999 and ending in 2006 (2005/12/EC OJ L6/7), is intended to support and supplement Member States’ efforts at national, regional and local levels by implementing actions for the protection of persons, property and environment in the event of natural and technological disasters. It also intends to implement actions that facilitate cooperation, exchange of experience and mutual assistance between Member States.

The Programme covers initiatives dealing with prevention, preparedness and response to disasters, as well as information and awareness-raising activities. In addition, specific thematic priorities/actions are set every year within this overall context, in the framework of annual calls for proposals.

The Programme provides financial support - in the form of grants - for activities such as major projects of general interest for several Member States, workshops, conferences, as well as information and other support actions (see annex to decision Action Programme 1999/847/EC OJ L327/53). According to the Programme these activities should give a contribution to:

(a) preventing the risks and damage to persons, property and in so doing environment, in the event of natural and technological disasters;
(b) increasing the degree of preparedness of those involved in civil protection in the Member States, in order to increase their ability to respond to an emergency;
(c) detecting and studying causes of disasters;
(d) improving the means and methods of forecasting, techniques and methods of response and immediate aftercare after emergencies;
(e) public information, education and awareness, so as to help citizens to protect themselves more effectively.

Ongoing Call for Proposals

Proposed priority thematic areas for actions to be implemented in 2006 in the framework of the Community action programme in the field of civil protection

The responsible Management Committee issued a favourable opinion on a proposal for a draft rolling plan (2005-2006) to implement the Community action programme in the field of civil protection.

The rolling plan, which is due to be adopted by the European Commission in the next few weeks, contains a draft list of thematic priority areas for the actions to be launched in 2006. Once the rolling plan is adopted, the Commission will publish a Call for proposals based on the final adopted list of thematic areas

The table below is an excerpt from the proposed draft rolling plan. It shows the proposed priority areas for 2006. Please note that this is a draft proposal that may still be subject to changes until adoption.

Title

Objective

1

Information to the public

A major project and/or a workshop to identify best approaches intended to raise citizens’ awareness and information on safety behaviours in case of major risks.

2

Maximisation at EU level of lessons learnt following Civil Protection emergencies in areas involving highly confidential information (e.g. terrorist attacks)

A EU-restricted workshop on how to maximise, at EU level, the exchange of information, experience and lessons learnt following Civil Protection emergencies involving classified information - such as terrorist attacks - while fully respecting the confidentiality obligations. The workshop should involve the responsible authorities of the Member States.

3

Psycho-social aftercare

A major project and/or a workshop involving national psychosocial after-care providers from various Member States/participating countries, focussing on one or more of the following aspects : a) a general exchange of knowledge, experience and good practice on psycho-social aftercare following major emergencies; b) psycho-social after-care for rescuers; b) dealing with multinational groups of victims.

4

Risk assessment/ Risk management

A major project and/or workshop on risk assessment and/or risk management methodologies in at least 3 major risk areas of common concern to at least 3 different countries. The project should take into account the current scientific knowledge and state of the art.

5

Safety of specific vulnerable groups

A major project and/or a workshop on best practice regarding the safety of vulnerable groups against major emergencies, such as severe climatic conditions due to hydro-meteorological events.

6

Assessment methodologies

A major project on the development of assessment methodologies to be used in the context of various types of major emergencies. The project should take into account existing guidelines and aim at the drafting of operational recommendations.  

7

Follow-up of completed projects or workshops

In view of the winding up of the Action Programme, one-off follow-up actions for completed projects or workshops (in compliance with § C.2 of the Annex to Decision Nr 1999/847), concerning all Member States or a significant number of them. The proposed actions should preferably cover one of the following areas : information to the public, psycho-social aftercare, disaster medicine, general contingency planning.

8

Fire prevention and safety measures

A major project and/or a workshop for the exchange of best practice between Member States on the implementation of fire prevention and safety measures.

The general notice for the call for proposals within the framework of the Community action programme in the field of civil protection is published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The 2006 call for proposals will be published shortly. The detailed criteria for applying for funding under this call, the Grant application guide 2006 and the Grant application forms 2006 will also be available shortly.  

The Action Programme is open to any legal person (public or private) established in the following countries: one of the EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The Candidate Countries may participate in the proposed actions at their own costs.

Follow-up to the Action Programme

2006 was the last year for the financing of actions within the framework of the Community action programme in the field of civil protection as this instrument expired on 31 December 2006.

The Commission intends to put in place other or renewed Community instruments for civil protection within the new EU Financial Perspectives for the 2007-2013.

In particular, the Commission has submitted two legislative proposals: A proposal for a Council Regulation establishing a Rapid Response and Preparedness Instrument for major emergencies (COM (2005) 113 final of 6 April 2005) and a Commission proposal for recast of Council Decision 2001/792/EC COM (2006) 29 of 26 January 2006. For more information on these two proposals click here.

Information Day

Once a year an Information Day is organised for the Civil Protection Action Programme, in order to provide applicants with useful information on how to prepare proposals before the next call. The Information Day for the 2006 Call for Proposals took place 27 January 2006 in Brussels.

Download the agenda and presentations distributed during the Information day.