MAIN TOPIC The European Union and its neighbours
The Hon. Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, addresses delegates of the European Civil Protection Forum at the presence of Janez Lenarčič, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management; Krista Mikkonen, Finland's Minister of Interior and Janez Potočnik, Co-chair, United Nations International Resource Panel, in a session facilitated by Sean Klein. photo: © European Commission
Building the EU’s capacity to respond to CBRN threats
The Union Civil Protection Mechanism by Dr Antonella Cavallo, rescEU CBRN Lead, DG ECHO, European Commission, Brussels
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n a heartfelt address at the European Civil Protection Forum on 28th June, Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, thanked EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič for standing by Ukraine since the very beginning. To this day, the European Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) has mobilised over 45,000 tonnes of Member States and Participating State’s in-kind assistance and supplies from the rescEU strategic stockpiles, transport and warehousing services, medical evacuation capabilities as well as donations from private sector, thanks to the collaboration with all 27 EU Member States and 3 of the Participating States (Norway, Turkey and North Macedonia).
Far-reaching assistance to Ukraine The assistance requested by Ukraine reflected the widest range of needs ever recorded in the history of the Union: from medical to agricultural needs, from medevac to energy-related requests to equipment to respond to chemical, biological and radio-nuclear (CBRN) threats. CBRN assistance provided to Ukraine so far included medical countermeasures such as antidotes, potassium iodide tablets, therapeutics and response equipment such as detectors, decontaminants, radiometers, dosimeters, spectrometers,
personal protective equipment. Moreover, the deployment included significant quantities of medical equipment to treat patients exposed to Toxic Industrial Chemicals such as ammonia or chlorine. When EU Member States could not directly match high-priority requests from Ukraine with offers, the ERCC mobilised these resources from the rescEU emergency reserves in collaboration with the countries managing the relevant stockpiles. These already contained critical medical equipment. In addition, they were reinforced with CBRN countermeasures and response equipment based on Ukraine’s current and projected needs. The overall financial value of the assistance provided to Ukraine and neighbouring states via the Union Civil Protection Mechanism amounts so far to over €400 million. Beyond the monetary significance of the assistance, the ERCC has acted as a coordination hub for the EU Member States and Participating States as well as for a wide array of international stakeholders. In so doing, the ERCC helped prioritise needs over a number of requests for assistance, which were circulated simultaneously to several institutions and organisations in the EU and beyond. In relation to the CBRN assistance, the ERCC secured a channel of communication with key contacts in international organisations, which were active in the delivery of C, B or RN equipment or medical countermeasures to Ukraine. These organisations included e.g. the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), US AID (which has been tracking CBRN assistance from several US government departments), NATO, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red → Continued on page 28
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