(1)

The Union Civil Protection Mechanism (‘the Union Mechanism’) set out in Decision No 1313/2013/EU 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)

Decision No 1313/2013/EU defines the legal framework of rescEU. RescEU aims to provide assistance in overwhelming situations where overall existing capacities at national level and those committed by Member States to the European Civil Protection Pool are not able to ensure an effective response.

(3)

In recent years there has been a sharp increase in the number of extreme forest fires in Europe with serious economic, environmental and social consequences. In particular, the 2017 and 2018 forest fire seasons demonstrated the need to be prepared when disasters severely and simultaneously affect several Member States.

(4)

The changing nature of the forest fire risk has resulted in proven response capacity gaps at Union level. These gaps were particularly evident during the 2017 forest firefighting season when capacities made available via the Union Mechanism were insufficient to respond to the needs of countries requesting assistance.

(5)

The initial composition of rescEU should therefore be defined with the utmost urgency in accordance with Article 12(2) of Decision No 1313/2013/EU and should in the first implementing decision include aerial forest firefighting capacities to respond to wild fires. Due to the necessary flexibility during the transitional period pursuant to Article 35 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU, the number of rescEU capacities should be indicatively set out in subsequent implementing decisions.

(6)

In accordance with Article 12(4) of Decision No 1313/2013/EU, quality requirements for aerial forest firefighting capacities under rescEU should be laid down after consultation with Member States and should be based on established international standards, where such standards already exist. Given the lack of established international standards for aerial forest firefighting capacities, the quality requirements for aerial forest firefighting capacities should be based on the existing general requirements for modules under the European Civil Protection Pool and best practices within the Union Mechanism. Those quality requirements should be laid down in an Annex to this Decision.

(7)

For reasons of budgetary discipline, it is necessary to lay down in this Decision the costs associated with the Union financial support under rescEU during the transitional period.

(8)

In the interest of sound financial management, direct grants for rescEU capacities during the transitional period should be awarded on the basis of an annual work programme.

(9)

With the entry into force on 21 March 2019 of Decision (EU) 2019/420 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), the rules on addressing temporary shortcomings in extraordinary disasters laid out in Commission Implementing Decision 2014/762/EU (3) have become obsolete. For reasons of consistency, Chapter 7 of Implementing Decision 2014/762/EU should be deleted.

(10)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the committee referred to in Article 33(1) of Decision No 1313/2013/EU,

(a)

the initial composition of rescEU in terms of capacities and its quality requirements;

(b)

the financing of capacities during the transitional period referred to in Article 35 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU.