NordenBladet —
Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Peeter Tali said that the development of crisis preparedness and civil protection in the European Union was based on the recommendations of the report on civil and military preparedness by former President of Finland Sauli Niinistö. According to Niinistö, the EU’s security situation has steadily deteriorated in recent years, and the world is becoming increasingly dangerous and vulnerable to crises.
Tali underlined that Estonia strongly supported the actions of the European Union and its Member States that strengthen Europe’s civil and military preparedness. “The implementation of this initiative is inevitable, because we must protect Europeans and prepare ourselves for various crises. Updating the mechanism will help us to be ready for crises and to survive. International cooperation is of key importance in building defence readiness and crisis resilience. That is why the European Union Affairs Committee decided by consensus to support the proposal for a regulation as a whole.”
“If a Member State can no longer cope with an emergency related to civil protection or health on its own, we can draw on the solidarity capabilities and resources of the European Union. This requires excellent coordination,” Tali said. “Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is the core of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism. Estonia has a vital interest in strengthening the ERCC so that, in any threat scenario, it would be possible to provide timely assistance in a centralised manner, especially when dealing with cluster crises.”
The regulation will update the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism in the light of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the unstable geopolitical situation. The draft regulation supports the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, and preparedness for and response to health emergencies and their financing for the period 2028–2034.
It was pointed out at the sitting that the total volume of the package was around ten billion euros. Estonia’s position is that the budget allocations should primarily take into account risk assessments and real threats, and that flexibility must be maintained in order to redistribute budgetary resources between areas as needed. Estonia emphasises that the needs of vulnerable target groups must be taken into account. Estonia also believes that the European Union’s activities in the field of crisis resilience must take into account NATO’s collective defence capabilities, activities, and planning process without competing with them.
Estonia’s positions also highlight that the European Union’s civil-military preparedness and cooperation should be strengthened by organising joint exercises and further developing information exchange mechanisms. We consider it important that the civil protection mechanism will enable to improve early warning systems, and to promote the cross-border use of space services and data as part of situational awareness and resilience.
The Government’s positions on the Proposal for a Regulation on the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and Union support for health emergency preparedness and response were presented to the Committee by Minister of the Interior Igor Taro. The European Union Affairs Committee decided to support the positions presented by the Government by consensus, in line with the opinions of the National Defence Committee and the Social Affairs Committee.
Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
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merilin.kruuse@riigikogu.ee
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Link uudisele: The Riigikogu strongly supports developing crisis preparedness and civil protection in the European Union
Source: Parliament of Estonia