Natural disasters and other crisis situations seem to become more and more frequent. Forest fires, floods, earthquakes and storms... But also armed conflicts or the outbreak of an infectious disease (we never forget corona). Due to climate change, these disasters are not only becoming more frequent, but also more intense. We cannot always prevent them, but we can prepare better. And that is exactly why, in 2019, the European Union rescEU into existence. We'd love to tell you more about it!
What exactly is rescEU?
In cooperation with the European Union
rescEU is a kind of European Union crisis reserve, set up and funded by the European Commission. Suppose a disaster breaks out somewhere and national emergency services can no longer cope, rescEU steps in. The system provides additional support on top of what countries already do themselves. Think of fire-fighting planes, helicopters, emergency shelters, medical equipment, vaccines and power generators. These are stored in several member states, so they can be deployed at lightning speed.
All EU countries participate in rescEU, as well as some neighbouring countries through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. A total of 27 EU member states plus 10 other countries are affiliated: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, Moldova and Ukraine. Some of these countries also actually host supplies, such as the Netherlands, which is responsible for some of the medical supplies. The European Commission pays for the equipment and coordinates the deployment in cooperation with national governments.
Since its establishment in 2019, rescEU has been deployed more than 160 times, in over 30 countries within and outside Europe. For example, in 2024, fire-fighting planes were sent to Greece, and power generators to Ukraine to keep hospitals operational. During the corona pandemic, millions of mouth caps and respirators went to countries such as Romania, Germany, Sweden and Greece.
rescEU: prepare together, act together
Climate change is making disasters - from forest fires to extreme storms - more frequent and intense. It is therefore more important than ever to prepare for what may come. Together with rescEU, we are building a European safety net that responds quickly when it is really needed. Because disasters do not respect borders.
The European Union is more than a political body - it is also our safety net in times of need. As the campaign nicely puts it: We prepare together. We act together. Want to know more about how rescEU works and what goes on behind the scenes? Learn more about it and follow @eu_echo on Instagram for updates.
Photo credits: rescEU/ European Commission.
