To improve the EU’s preparedness and response capacity to public health risks, such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threatsthe Commission builds strategic stockpiles of response capabilities through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
These include a strategic rescueEU reserve of € 540.5 million, created in close cooperation with the Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).
This stock will consist of equipment and medicines, vaccines and other therapeutic agents for the treatment of patients exposed to CBD agents, as well as a rescEU disinfection stock for the provision of disinfection equipment and specialized emergency response teams.
As an immediate first step, the EU has mobilized the rescEU medical stock to supply potassium iodide tablets that can be used to protect humans from the harmful effects of radiation. With the help of France and Spain, almost 3 million iodine tablets have already been delivered to Ukraine through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Crisis Management Commissioner Janes Lenarcic said: “We are taking concrete steps to increase Europe’s preparedness for potential threats. We are creating both a disinfection stock and a new stock of equipment specifically for chemical, biological or nuclear emergencies. I am grateful to the Member States for this effort. “Our goal is to create rapid response capabilities for our citizens in the event of an emergency.”
The Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Mrs. Stella Kyriakidou, stated: “In order for there to be health security, we need to be on standby. Preparing to deal with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats is an essential element in maintaining the safety of our citizens and a key element of a strong European Health Union. “HERA is watching closely and working around the clock to support EU action through the Civil Protection Mechanism to support preparedness in Ukraine and our Member States.”
One / none can be exposed to CBRN agents as a result of unintentional damage (eg leak to a chemical plant, accident at a nuclear power plant, spread of an infectious disease) or intentional (eg terrorist attack). Preparedness to deal with these threats is a key part of the CBRN stockpiling strategy. The Commission is therefore developing under rescEU:
Strategic CBD emergency stock rescEU: The stock, designed jointly with Member States, will include emergency response equipment — such as personal protective equipment and detection, identification, and monitoring devices — as well as medicines, vaccines, and other therapeutic agents. The stock will make a significant contribution to the resilience of the CBR sector in the EU, as it will include equipment and medicines that may be difficult to prepare in times of crisis or that may suddenly be required in larger quantities than those available in national stocks. The CBRN stockpile is a first step towards building better capacity to deal with nuclear power plant incidents, chemical plant emergencies, terrorist attacks or the spread of infectious disease and many other situations.
RescEU disinfection stock: This stock will include both personnel and equipment for disinfecting people, infrastructure, buildings, vehicles or critical equipment exposed to CBD agents. The rescEU disinfection stock may be dispatched at the request of the affected Member State. The reserve will be created and hosted by Croatia, Germany and Spain and will be 100% funded by the EU, with an initial budget of 66.7m euros.
Lena Flytzani
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