Press Release: Council adopts new Union Civil Protection Mechanism

At the Foreign Aiffairs Council meeting taking place in Brussels on 16 December 2013, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

The new legal instrument will improve the effectiveness of systems preventing, preparing for and responding to natural and man-made disasters of all kinds within and outside the EU. The Union Mechanism is a visible expression of European solidarity, supporting, complementing and facilitating the coordination of member states' actions in the field of civil protection.