The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is a relatively new tool that the EU put in place in 2001 in order to cope better with natural and man made disasters interventions. All the EU member states have their own civil protection and have cooperated in the past, but the main task of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is to enhance a better coordination among member states in case of urgent response actions and major emergencies like natural disasters. By pooling the civil protection capabilities of the participating states, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism can ensure a better protection of people, but also of the natural and cultural environment. The Mechanism was originally located in the DG Environment’s Civil Protection Unit, but with the Lisbon Treaty its coordinating role passed to EU Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO).
Since the year of its setting up, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been able to show its high professionalism inside and outside Europe, like the Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2008 earthquake in China and the forest fires in Southern Europe in 2009.
This paper seeks to analyse whether the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been able to influence positively the integration of the EU member states in the challenging field of disaster response, by pooling capabilities, resources and exchange of information.
