The 7th European Civil Protection Forum took place in Brussels on 28-29 June 2022. It was the first edition after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war on Ukraine. Organised by European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), it brought together stakeholders who play an active role in European Civil Protection.
Over the last 15 years, the European Civil Protection Forum has become an important European gathering of practitioners and decision-makers in the field of civil protection.
The 7th European Civil Protection Forum took place in Brussels on 28-29 June 2022, and welcomed actors involved in the shaping and implementation of the European civil protection policy.
This includes representatives from the civil protection and disaster management communities such as governments, local, national and regional civil protection authorities, first responders, EU institutions, the scientific community and the private sector as well as other relevant stakeholders wishing to provide their input to this discussion.
Full background information on the agenda, the plenaries, workshops, speakers and the exhibition can be found in the Forum Booklet.
“I encourage everyone to use these two days to share our knowledge, exchange our visions and reflect together on how to further strengthen the Union Civil Protection Mechanism […]. Let us use this unique opportunity to its fullest in order to make the European crisis management faster, greener and smarter”.
The 2022 edition of the Forum was notable for the first award of medals for long-standing commitment and extraordinary contributions to the European Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).
Alongside the Forum, indoor and outdoor exhibitions showcased innovative solutions and good practices in the field of civil protection.
Under the overarching theme “Towards faster, greener & smarter emergency management”, the Forum was structured around four policy axes. Each of these four policy axes was tackled through the prevention, preparedness and response angles, via a combination of plenary sessions and workshops.
The two-day agenda included various plenary sessions from three different angles: prevention, preparedness and response. In addition, a high-level opening session and a special plenary session on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine provided additional strategic steering to the discussions.
In his opening remarks of the 7th edition of the European Civil Protection Forum, Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management, expressed his deepest appreciation for the work undertaken by all civil protection colleagues in the various crises over the last few years, including the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia's war on Ukraine, and several natural disasters.
Where do we stand with European Civil Protection: the UCPM as a catalyser for a reinforced European Emergency Management?
The high-level plenary session set the scene for the Forum, discussing the future role of the European Civil Protection, the ways in which systems evolve to cope with current and future crises, and the shift towards an inter-sectorial way of working.
The special plenary discussion on Russia's war on Ukraine took stock at a strategic level of what has been accomplished to date, what more needs to be done, and how the EU can provide meaningful, timely and effective support in the future in concert with Ukraine, other affected countries, the private sector and international and third-country partners.
The opportunity of prevention: knowledge and investments for a green and resilient future.
This session zoomed on efforts to promote climate resilience as an opportunity for the ‘green transition’ in the post-Covid recovery. It also showed how the UCPM, as the main European framework for cooperation on disaster prevention, can serve as the connector between national and European levels.
The Covid-19 pandemic as catalyser for strengthening Europe’s cross-sectoral preparedness.
The plenary session on Preparedness focused on how the UCPM could learn from the Covid-19 pandemic when it comes to cross-sectoral cooperation, and how this would influence our future preparedness to disasters and crisis.
How to respond to the next climate-related crisis?
The plenary session on response provided a clearer understanding of UCPM’s future role in the light of climate change, including a focus on hot-spots and sudden-onset crisis in the EU and beyond, as well as an overview of the necessary building blocks for the future such as foresight, innovation and cooperation.
The Commission decided to award a medal to Ms Patricia Gaspar, Secretary of State of Portugal, for her long-standing commitment to the UCPM, as well as her role in the successful negotiations of the latest UCPM legislative revision.
The second type of medal was awarded to the French Water Purification Team, the Norwegian EMT and the Luxembourg emergency communication team that deployed to Haiti for their extraordinary contribution to the UCPM.
Final Report of the 7th European Civil Protection Forum
(4.62 MB - PDF)
