Union Civil Protection Mechanism Medals
The European Commission awards medals in order to recognise and honour long-standing commitment and extraordinary contributions to the UCPM in the areas of prevention, preparedness and response actions.
Types of Medals
Medals for long-standing commitment to the UCPM
Recipients of this medal are honoured for long-standing commitment in the areas of prevention, preparedness and/or response.
Medals for extraordinary contribution to the UCPM
Recipients of this medal are honoured for extraordinary strategic or operational contributions to the UCPM.
Nomination Procedure
Step 1
Nomination procedure
Following a call for nominations, authorities can submit their nominations to the functional mailbox ECHO-UCPM-MEDALS@ec.europa.eu. More information can be found in the guidelines attached to the call.
Step 2
Selection of Laureates
The Award Board convenes in order to assess the nominations and takes a decision. The medal recipients are informed of the Board's decision in a timely manner before the ceremony.
Step 3
Award Ceremony
The award ceremony takes place and the potential laureates receive their rightful medals.
Recipients of UCPM Medals for long-standing commitment
Patricia Gaspar
Patricia Gaspar, Portugal's Secretary of State, was the first recipient of a UCPM medal for long-standing commitment to the Mechanism.
Recipients of UCPM Medals for extraordinary contribution
Water purification module
The French water purification module received a medal for extraordinary contribution during their UCPM deployment to Haiti in 2019.
Emergency Medical Team
The Norwegian EMT module received a medal for extraordinary contribution during their UCPM deployment to Haiti in 2019.
Telecoms emergency communication team
The Luxembourgish emergency communication TAST team received a medal for extraordinary contribution during their UCPM deployment to Haiti in 2019.
UCPM Medevac Operation for Ukraine
The medal for extraordinary contribution was awarded to the ongoing Medevac operation for Ukraine and was received on behalf of the operation by Norway and Germany.
Italian Civil Protection Teams
The cross-sectoral support provided by Italy in response to the floods caused by cyclone Daniel in 2023 was awarded with a medal for extraordinary contribution to the UCPM.
Past UCPM Medals Ceremonies
8th European Civil Protection Forum 2024
The latest ceremony for the UCPM medals took place on the first day of the 8th European Civil Protection Forum on 4 June 2024, in Brussels, Belgium.
7th European Civil Protection Forum 2022
The first set of UCPM medals was awarded in a special ceremony during the 7th edition of the European Civil Protection Forum in June 2022. More information about this can be found at the bottom of the page.