(2004/C 70 E/122)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2625/03

by Michel-Ange Scarbonchi (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 September 2003)

Subject:   Establishment of a European civil protection corps

The fires which recently swept through Europe, destroying several thousand hectares of vegetation, highlighted the chronic lack of forest fire prevention and control resources. The Commission must respond to such disasters with the utmost urgency.

While the existence of a European civil protection centre in which the EU Member States plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein are involved and the setting up on 18 August 2002 of a European Solidarity Fund are a cause for some hope, given the devastating impact which fires have on the communities and local councils concerned and the damage they cause to the environment and economic activities such as forestry and tourism, fire-fighting resources need to be stepped up and new prevention and intervention rules need to be laid down at European level.

The management of forests and other natural resources, which cover 60 million hectares in 25 countries in the Mediterranean area, must remain an economic and social priority. The establishment of a European civil protection corps would enable such disasters to be dealt with more effectively.

There are many arguments in favour of a new administrative and technical entity, which could be placed under the supervision of the European Parliament and under the responsibility of the competent national authorities, given that civil protection falls within the sphere of responsibility of the Member States.

In the run-up to the forthcoming enlargement, this would send out a strong signal in support of European forests. What are the Commission's views on this proposal? Can it take action in support of the establishment of a European civil protection corps?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(23 October 2003)

The Commission is already active in the field of civil protection. Following a Council Decision, a Community mechanism to facilitate reinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions (1) has been set up, which provides a focal point for the 29 participating countries with a view to closer coordination of civil protection in and outside the European Union.

The Civil Protection Response Centre has been operational 24 hours a day since 1 January 2002. It has the task of facilitating European cooperation in emergencies. When assistance is requested, the centre can call immediately upon the resources of the participating countries to deal with all types of major emergencies. The centre played a very active role in dealing with the recent fires in Europe, deploying all the means available under its mandate.

The idea of creating a European civil protection corps needs to be examined in detail to assess its effectiveness properly. In September 2003, the Commission started to consider whether it might be appropriate to set up a European civil protection force as part of disaster response action to be taken by the Community.

Lastly, the Commission aims to continue its support for Member States to implement forest fire prevention measures. These measures were previously coordinated and financed by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 (2), which expired on 31 December 2002. In future, prevention measures in this field will be supported under Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/99 (3) on rural development. The forest fire information system will be part of the ‘Forest Focus’ Regulation, which is still under political debate.

(1)  Council Decision 2001/792/EC, Euratom of 23 October 2001 establishing a Community mechanism to facilitate reinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions, OJ L 297, 15.11.2001.

(2)  Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on protection of the Community's forests against fire, OJ L 217, 31.7.1992.

(3)  Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations, OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.