Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania joined the Union Civil Protection Mechanism in 2022, becoming its 7th and 8th participating states. The Knowledge Network met Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Director-General for civil protection, Dr. Samir Agić and Albania's Director-General of the national civil protection agency, Haki Çako, to talk about what’s next for the UCPM's newest participating states.
What are your first thoughts after joining the Mechanism?
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of the individuals and institutions who participated in the process of accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the UCPM, as a fully-fledged member.
Since this process took us several years to complete, I want to use this opportunity to thank all the colleagues in ECHO, headed by the previous Director-General Paraskevi Michou, the current acting Director-General Michael Köhler, and Commissioner Janez Lenarčič for their unconditional support throughout this process.
What does membership of the UCPM mean for Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Thanks to membership of the UCPM, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to increase its capacities in prevention, preparedness and response to natural disasters and emergencies.Our participation will also allow us to contribute to the joint response of the EU Civil Protection structure to any challenges that lay ahead.
This also reinforces opportunities for our commitment to the EU path of Bosnia and Herzegovina. By joining the UCPM, Bosnia and Herzegovina will use this opportunity to align with the rules and procedures of the EU in the area of civil protection, and to build political and institutional credibility and capacity for participation in the multilateral framework for civil protection. This will also further strengthen Bosnia and Herzegovina’s commitment to full membership of the European Union, which is recognised as a strategic goal in the Foreign Policy Strategy of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018–2023.
In your opinion, how can Bosnia and Herzegovina contribute to the UCPM now or in the future in terms of capacities, knowledge and expertise?
Bosnia and Herzegovina started preparations for membership of the UCPM in 2014. In this regard, significant efforts have been made with the aim of strengthening the capacity of civil protection. This is particularly reflected in the preparation of planning documents in accordance with the methodology and directives of the European Union. Various teams were trained thanks to projects financed by the UCPM.
In the coming period, Bosnia and Herzegovina will do its best to justify the trust given to us by the UCPM members, to demonstrate that it is a reliable partner and that it will actively participate in the segments of the Mechanism's work.
In which area can the Mechanism support Bosnia and Herzegovina the most?
Over the years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been affected by various different types of disasters. Several times, based on a Decision of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have requested international assistance through the UCPM. The existence of the policy framework and procedures for offering assistance and the necessary resources within the UCPM ensured successful coordination and operational support to Bosnia and Herzegovina while dealing with disasters.
In addition, having the possibility to participate in UCPM training and international exercise programme is of great importance, to increase the interoperability of our teams.
Membership of the UCPM will provide significant resources for natural or other disasters, the possibility to participate in the calls for application for prevention and preparedness projects, reimbursement of transport costs or other types of costs incurred when deploying civil protection forces to another country to respond to requests for international assistance, access to the Exchange of Experts programme, and more.
What does membership of the UCPM mean for Albania?
With membership of the Mechanism, we will be better positioned to receive international assistance in cases of natural disasters, and Albania will also play an active role in the European civil protection system.
It is my belief that through applications for projects, we will have the possibility of strengthening the capacities and achieving the appropriate standards in technology, modern tools and equipment, training and certification of the Albanian teams that will interact with the European teams in cases of natural disasters and those caused by the human hand.
Last but not least, this will enable us to raise interaction and cooperation between the National Operational Centre and the Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre, based on European best practices.
In your opinion, how can Albania contribute to the UCPM now or in the future in terms of capacities, knowledge, and expertise?
My answer is related to exchanging experience from previous years, such as the earthquake of 2019 with the four different phases of emergencies, looking at the good recovery phase and gaps in the reaction phase as well as the comparison of the situation of the pandemic that happened only a few months after the earthquake.
The second contribution that I would see from Albania is exchanging experience deriving from drafting the national Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy, as well as national Law 45/2019, which includes innovations like the 4% that the central government makes available to municipalities to support them with prevention activities, as well as local government initiatives in the field of civil protection.
Albania can also share engineering and research expertise in various fields, such as landslides, weather events, geographic information systems (GIS), seismology, health matters, and hydro expertise. We could also make available to the Mechanism some Operational Structures that can help countries in case of disaster.
What are three main lessons learned for Albania after the earthquake in 2019 and how can membership of the Mechanism help?
We had gaps in several areas, just to mention a few: Standard Operating Procedures for all structures as well as for the different phases of the emergency; necessary equipment and tools for this type of disaster; lack of trained and certified teams for urban search and rescue (USAR) and for other support and responsive structures; lack of a central coordinating and well-organised structure as National Civil Protection Agency, that currently exists and is active.
I would see the main benefits of membership as gaining access to support and EU expertise for the fulfilment of Standard Operating Procedures according to the nature, stages and level of civil emergencies. In addition, we can benefit from strengthening of logistic capacities and contemporary technology, training and certification according to EU standards of USAR and other teams, and consolidation and standardisation according to EU procedures of the National Civil Protection Agency.
Reproduction of an article from the Knowledge Network newsletter, Issue 7.
The Knowledge Network editorial team is here to share the news and stories of the Knowledge Network community. We'd love to hear your news, events and personal stories about your life in civil protection and disaster risk management. If you've got a story to share, please contact us.
