MEPs want stronger crisis anticipation, cross-border medical support

Two European Parliament committees on Thursday adopted their position on the next version of the European Union’s civil protection mechanism for 2028-2034, the bloc’s main tool for helping countries hit by disasters such as wildfires, floods or earthquakes.

The Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety and the Committee on Public Health approved the position by 61 votes to 9, with nine abstentions. It will go to a vote by the full Parliament at an upcoming plenary session. The mechanism pools voluntary resources and shares them with the country in need.

More funding

Lawmakers proposed raising funding for the mechanism to 12.42 billion euros in current prices, or 11 billion euros in 2025 constant prices, up from the 10 billion euros in the European Commission’s proposal. They want 40% earmarked for civil protection, 40% for health emergencies and 20% as a flexibility amount.

Anticipating crises

The committees want to strengthen monitoring and anticipation so EU institutions and local actors can prepare for crises rather than simply react. They proposed vulnerability mapping, an integrated EU space service to support public warning systems, and backing for forward-looking climate projections and climate risk assessments.

They also called for a dedicated framework to coordinate civil-military collaboration in crisis response and a stronger role for local and regional governments. They want EU space capabilities used for early warning systems.

Shared response and recovery

Lawmakers agreed the program should strengthen joint emergency response capacity, known as rescEU, including through an aerial forest-fire-fighting fleet available from 2028.

They proposed a recovery readiness framework to ensure EU countries have clear mandates for different levels of government, sufficient technical and human capacity, and enough data to coordinate recovery.

Citing volunteers as a first line of response, they want volunteers to have a dedicated legal status with clear insurance coverage, recognition of qualifications and exemptions from constraints related to their day jobs.

Health emergencies

The program would also help EU countries fight serious cross-border health threats, for example by stockpiling medical countermeasures such as personal protective equipment and active pharmaceutical ingredients, and by developing early warning and surveillance systems.

Lawmakers want to extend EU support to cross-border cooperation between specialized care centers, cross-border medical teams, medical surge capacity, such as analysis of intensive care unit capacity, and patient transfers between member states during overload situations.

Lawmakers’ comments

“Wildfires and floods have shown how serious the global climate emergency is,” said co-rapporteur Leire Pajín of the Socialists and Democrats group in Spain. “We want to ensure that we are better prepared to face risks ranging from climate-related to health emergencies and hybrid threats.”

Co-rapporteur Aurelijus Veryga of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in Lithuania said the report “strengthens the EU’s ability to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, health emergencies and other major crises.” He said the proposals focus on preparedness, prevention, early warning and coordination, including scenario planning and stress testing.

The legislation is part of the EU’s 2028-2034 long-term budget package. Parliament wants the budget to remain a strong investment tool that supports citizens, regions and businesses while delivering value beyond national budgets. Lawmakers propose increasing the size of the draft budget and insist on new revenue sources to fund it.