Calls grow to give civil protection EU identity

Date: 29/02/1996

By Rory Watson

PRESSURE is growing for civil protection to be given a higher priority in the EU as natural disasters ranging from flash floods to earthquakes continue to pose a constant threat to people and property alike.

EU governments are expected to approve Commission plans for a multi-million-ecu five-year programme to support existing national measures after Easter.

The Commission now faces the politically-charged decision of whether to urge governments to endow civil protection with an explicit EU dimension by including the issue formally in the revised Maastricht Treaty.

On one side of the debate are those calling for caution on the grounds that civil protection is a national responsibility. On the other are those who suggest it would help bring the Union closer to its citizens.

Italy has been the staunchest champion of giving civil protection a stronger political identity. It was at Rome's insistence that the Maastricht Treaty in 1991 specifically committed the Union to consider the issue, alongside energy and tourism policy, in this year's Intergovernmental Conference.

Italian interest is hardly surprising given the constant threat of natural disasters the country faces. Over 4,500 people died in the 1979 Irpinia earthquake, while Piedmont recently suffered widespread damage from severe flooding in 1994.

“We are exposed to all kinds of natural disasters - earthquakes, volcanoes, flash floods, more general flooding and forest fires,” said a senior Italian diplomat.

Backing for the initiative is coming not only from southern member states exposed to a wide range of natural disasters, but also from northern countries such as Sweden, which has to contend with forest fires, and Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, all of which have recently declared states of emergency after acute flooding.

Supporters of a higher EU profile for civil protection draw parallels with the relative lack of enthusiasm that greeted calls 15 years ago for greater Union involvement in the environment.

“Then no one really paid much attention to calls for EU environmental measures. Now look at the interest and the political importance. I can see the same happening with civil protection as policies are put in place to handle both natural and civil disasters. Sooner or later it will be a prominent issue in public opinion,” said the diplomat.

Giving civil protection a specific standing in the new Maastricht Treaty would widen the scope and give a solid legal basis for EU-inspired initiatives.

But the Commission has repeatedly maintained it has no intention of becoming a 16th civil protection body, insisting its aim is to support national measures and improve cooperation between the 5.25 million people throughout the Union now ready to tackle catastrophes and natural emergencies. Nor has the absence of a specific reference prevented the Commission from giving its help when required.

Officials were involved, for example, in the operation to minimise the damage to the environment from oil leaking from the damaged tanker Sea Empress off the west coast of England.