A consortium has been selected to implement the EU-RESPOND project, funded by the European Union, which aims to reinforce international disaster assistance and response by strengthening Host Nation Support (HNS) capacities through the design, planning, and conduct of three Tabletop exercises (TTX).
Over a three-year period (2025–2028), EU-RESPOND will organise three HNS-focused TTXs in Armenia, Saint-Martin / Sint Maarten and Tunisia. These exercises are designed to test, improve and harmonise national procedures for receiving and coordinating international disaster assistance, while ensuring interoperability with national civil protection and disaster management systems.
The Kick-off Meeting was held at the headquarters of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) in Brussels on 12–13 November 2025. This initial meeting marked a key milestone for the consortium, establishing the foundations for the next three years of collaboration.
Discussions focused on:
The project methodology is built around a needs-based and Host Nation centered approach, ensuring that each TTX responds to national priorities while strengthening sustainable HNS capacities.
The consortium extends its sincere thanks to the DG ECHO teams for their support and guidance, in particular: Donatella Salvi, Per Øyvind Semb, Maria Tuomela and Esther Artal.
The meeting gathered representatives from all consortium partners, both in person and remotely:
Studio Docu Stories: Augustin Le Gall
Following the Kick-off Meeting, the consortium will move forward with the organisation of the Stakeholder meeting in Paris and continued development of the design, planning and coordination framework of the three HNS Tabletop Exercises, starting with Armenia in October 2026.
Sectors
