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The EU devotes serous attention to coordinating disaster response efforts – both within Europe and beyond. In recent years, disasters have impacted several European regions, resulting in hundreds of casualties and causing billions in damage to infrastructure and the environment. The newly established RescEU program is an integral part of previously created EU Civil Protection Mechanism, and aimed at providing additional protection facilities against disasters in the continent. Besides, the new program strengthens European disaster preparedness, creates strategic reserves of emergency response and recovery.
Background
Europe faces an increasingly complex risk situation, where natural disasters, climate-related hazards, health emergencies and other crises can have far-reaching and cascading effects across borders and socio-economic sectors. Addressing these challenges requires moving beyond reactive and hazard-specific responses towards a more proactive and integrated all-hazards approach, with a stronger focus on prevention and preparedness.
Such an approach is at the heart of the EU Preparedness Union Strategy, which aims to strengthen Europe’s resilience to crises through closer cooperation, better coordination and the involvement of all levels of government and society.
This summer showed once again why strengthening Europe’s preparedness is so important. With wildfire risks rising across Europe, a record number of firefighters, aircraft and emergency experts were deployed this summer to help protect lives, homes and nature. Over 686,000 hectares were burnt and some 12 million tons of crops were lost.
This year, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated for wildfires 10 times over the summer among European states, and twice outside Europe: e.g. over 40 aerial firefighting assets and 18 ground firefighting teams were deployed.
More on RescEU in: https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/resceu_en
Wildfire risk management
The EU is also strengthening its approach to integrated wildfire risk management. Presented in March 2026, the Commission’s Communication recognises wildfires must be addressed across the full disaster management cycle – from prevention and preparedness to response and recovery. The EU is investing billions of euros across different programs to support climate adaptation, forest resilience, prevention infrastructure and disaster risk management. These projects help countries strengthen risk assessment, improve preparedness planning and build long-term resilience against wildfires.
The Communication’s working plan is complemented by a new framework for climate resilience adopted on 27 October 2026 and a European Heatwave Plan planned for adoption in 2027.
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_2287
The European Commission has established at the end of October 2026, the so-called PreparEU Advisory Group, tasked with providing strategic advice to President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, on how to best address accelerating disaster risks, including extreme weather events and wildfires. It will be composed of 11 senior experts with a background in EU civil protection and crisis management and 6 scientists and academics, from different EU member states.
More on the EU-wide “preparedness mechanism” in: https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/resceu_en#what-is-it
The EU officials’ response
Commission President said: “As climate change drives increasingly extreme weather and natural disasters, Europe is here to help. We need to think bigger and learn faster. This is why we are bringing Europe’s most experienced firefighters and emergency responders together – to draw on their experience to make Europe better prepared. From stronger civil-military coordination to the equipment and capabilities we need. They will make concrete proposals to make EU civil protection even more effective. So that European solidarity will always be there when disaster strikes.”
The group’s secretariat will be based in Brussels and hosted by the Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, added: “The exceptional is no longer exceptional: we must prepare for everything. This summer, Europe fought raging wildfires together through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. In Belgium, France, Spain, Serbia and beyond, planes crossed borders and European firefighters worked side by side with local crews to save lives. The best fire is the one that never starts. The PreparEU group will bring together senior crisis-management experts, backed by scientists, to help us prepare for the full range of risks Europe faces. They will deliver concrete recommendations, including for a possible European Firefighting Fleet. We are delivering to keep every European safe”.
Reference and citations from: https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/index_en
Climate actions
The existential threat posed by climate change requires enhanced ambition and increased climate action by the EU and the member states. The Union is committed to stepping up efforts to tackle climate change and to delivering on the implementation of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the ‘Paris Agreement’), guided by its principles and on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge, in the context of the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.
More on the European climate law regulation (2021) in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1119/oj/eng
Additionally, in “Forging a climate-resilient Europe – the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change”: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2021:82:FIN
Presently, about 75 percent Europeans live in cities and urban areas; quite often they are “feeling firsthand” the impacts of climate change. Building climate resilience is therefore a strategic investment in European competitiveness, security, health and prosperity. The economic case for action is compelling: estimated economic losses from climate damages from 2022-2025 stood at approximately €200 billion, or €50 billion per year.
The EU-27 is a global leader in the transition towards climate neutrality, and it is determined to help raise global ambition and to strengthen the global response to climate change, using all tools at its disposal, including climate diplomacy.
More in climate resilience in: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_2244
More on RescEU program
As the Commission noticed, the “RescEU is a strategic reserve” of the European disaster response capabilities and stockpiles, fully funded by the EU.
It comprises the following strategic measures: a fleet of firefighting planes and helicopters, the medical evacuation planes and emergency medical specialist teams. Besides, there are several medical and CBRN strategic stockpiles, including: field hospitals, transport assets, energy and shelter items, critical medical supplies, equipment to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies. The CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) facilities consist of targeted, long-term reserves of specialized equipment, personal protective gear, decontamination agents, vaccines and medical countermeasures designed for rapid deployment during crises.
The RescEU reserves are hosted in strategic locations across 24 states participating in the EU civil protection mechanism.
More in: https://www.heyl-berlin.de/strategic-stockpiling-in-cbrn-emergencies-why-it-saves-lives/?lang=en
Bottom-line
It is important to underline, that when a disaster strikes, any country in Europe -as well as across the globe- can request assistance through the EU civil protection mechanisms.
Once fully activated, the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC)would be able “to channel” appropriate assistant both to the EU states and participating countries in these activities in all forms of disasters’ approaches. Thus, in most cases, the EU is able to mobilise the RescEU financial reserve, which serves as an additional layer of protection for European citizens, filling potential gaps and guaranteeing an even more effective disaster response.
As soon as the ERCC is an integral component of the European-wide civil protection mechanism, it is able to provide additional protection facilities against disasters for European states, businesses and citizens. Basically, the RescEU programs are strengthening European-wide disaster preparedness by establishing strategic reserves of emergency response capacities.
More on the Center in: https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/emergency-response-coordination-centre_en