Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on progress on implementation of Article 6 of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism: Preventing and managing disaster risk in Europe
This report provides an overview of the progress in implementing article 6 of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). The UCPM was set up to create a European Union (EU) framework for assistance to respond to disasters when national capacities were overwhelmed. Over the years, revisions of the UCPM have expanded this framework to go beyond disaster response and encompass a broader spectrum of disaster preparedness and prevention. Article 6 sets up a framework for risk management. This report shows that, while considerable progress has been made, there is still scope to do more on different levels.
In line with the actions set out in the Communication on the Union disaster resilience goals, this report identifies a number of complementary actions and recommendations that are needed to achieve the Union disaster resilience goals. Damage from catastrophic events is rising enormously, but the union's overall capacity to absorb and recover from such shocks is limited. More and better prevention investment in a ‘whole of EU approach’ is therefore needed.