The EU is sending a €143 Million support package to support North East Nigeria. The region needs this for the recovery and reconstruction after a famine. This action reflects the European Commission’s recently published strategic approach to resilience.
Article 6 of the new Union Civil Protection Mechanism calls for National Risk Assessment reports (NRAs) from all EU member states. The first NRAs had to be submitted by 22 December 2015 and every three years thereafter. Following the first submissions, the ‘Overview of Natural and Man-made Disaster Risks the European Union may face‘ was published on 23-5-2017.
The recognition of disaster risks in Europe is the first step towards effective disaster risk reduction. In turn, resilience is at the heart of prevention against disasters in Europe. Nevertheless the overview of risks shows the different levels of importance that member states attributed towards their NRAs. Sometimes these were not as high as hoped for. This could partly be due to different governance structures and the management of their NRAs.
The increasingly extreme and complex nature of disasters that the European Union
is facing should not be underestimated. Both climate change and our interlinked economies increase the negative effects of the disasters. Therefore sustainability and the protection of critical infrastructure are key in guarding against distasters affecting populations irrespective of national borders.
The disaster risk types included in the overview range from natural disasters of a meteorological, climatological, geo-physical, or biological nature. Also man-made disasters were included, either coming from technological angles or security threats. Therefore the overview of disaster risks is closely associated with the European Agenda on Security.
These issues need to be faced through a regional approach using prevention to achieve preparedness, response and recovery. Disasters know no boundaries. Hence the NRAs are of the upmost importance in understanding the risks facing the European Union as a whole.
Furhtermore the implementation of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism offers the European Commission the chance to follow up on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
RESILIENCEpoort Student Event @ Huis van Europa
Want to find out about more concrete methods of implementing risk assessment, protecting against shocks and stresses and achieving resilient
critical infrastructure? Come to our ‘ResiliencePOORT for students’ event at the 22nd of September in Huis van Europa, Den Haag.