On 25–26 September, a representative from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia is joining European counterparts in Aosta, Italy, for the EU-ALPEX 2027 Workshop on Cross-Border Cooperation in Safety, Rescue and Civil Protection, organized by the Civil Protection Department of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley in collaboration with CIMA Research Foundation.
The workshop is part of the EU-ALPEX 2027 project, led by the French Direction générale de la Sécurité civile et de la gestion des crises (DGSCGC).
Armenian participation through PPRD East 4 creates a direct connection between two EU-funded initiatives and an opportunity to learn from a European operational context focused on cross-border emergency management.
The workshop brings together civil protection authorities, emergency responders and technical experts to identify operational challenges, share practices and develop practical solutions ahead of the ALPEX 2027 Full-Scale Exercise, planned in the Mont Blanc area in spring 2027. The wider initiative also aims to support the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between cross-border countries (Italy and France) to strengthen emergency cooperation.
Cross-border emergencies require different national systems to work effectively together. In Aosta, participants are addressing practical aspects of interoperability, from rescue operations and emergency coordination to communication, procedures, and the mobilization of resources across borders.
For the Armenian experts participating through PPRD East 4, this provides an opportunity to exchange operational experience with European counterparts, including Italian and French civil protection actors, and to engage directly with the challenges that arise when different systems need to operate together.
The workshop follows a practical approach: participants move from existing procedures and operational challenges towards shared solutions, recommendations and priority actions to be addressed before the 2027 exercise.
This preparatory experience can then be carried forward into future field exercises, where procedures, coordination, and interoperability move from discussion into practice.
The cooperation between PPRD East 4 and ALPEX 2027 is also a concrete example of how EU-funded initiatives can build on each other.
By connecting capacity-development activities under PPRD East 4 with the operational learning environment offered by ALPEX 2027, the two initiatives create continuity between knowledge, preparedness and practical experience.
For PPRD East 4, this means providing partner-country experts with opportunities not only to strengthen capacities at national level, but also to work alongside European counterparts, exchange approaches and become increasingly familiar with European civil protection cooperation.
The value of this cooperation extends beyond a single workshop or exercise. ALPEX 2027 aims to build working relationships, trust and a shared operational culture among organisations that may need to cooperate across borders during emergencies.
For PPRD East 4, participating in this process adds an experiential dimension to capacity development: learning together before exercising together, and exercising together before having to respond together.
By connecting projects, institutions and operational expertise, European cooperation helps turn preparedness into a shared practice across borders.