27 Strengthening the EU's Civil Protection
Mechanism
| (33509)
18919/11
+ ADDs 1-2
COM(11) 934
| Draft Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism
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| Legal base | Article 196 TFEU; co-decision; QMV
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| Department | Cabinet Office
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| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 9 July 2013
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| Previous Committee Reports | HC 86-xxxiii (2012-13), chapter 6 (27 February 2013);
HC 86-xxxi (2012-13), chapter 1 (6 February 2013);
HC 86-iv (2012-13) chapter 6 (14 June 2012);
HC 428-lii (2010-12), chapter 6 (29 February 2012)
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| Discussion in Council | Concluded — trilogue negotiations are underway
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| Committee's assessment | Legally and politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background and previous scrutiny
27.1 The background to this proposal is set out in some detail
in our Fifty-seventh Report of Session 2010-12, agreed on 29 February
2012. The draft Decision would repeal the existing EU Civil Protection
Mechanism (in operation since 2001) and create it afresh, but
with some significant modifications to strengthen the role of
the EU in coordinating the response to disasters occurring within
or outside the European Union. It is based on Article 196 of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) which
provides a specific legal base for EU action to "support
and complement" Member States' efforts in the field of civil
protection. The Commission has proposed a budget of €513
million for the new Mechanism for the period 2014-20. This contrasts
with a sum of €189.8 million for the existing Mechanism for
2007-13.
27.2 The Government indicated that it had substantial
concerns with the Commission's initial proposal. In particular,
it suggested that provisions of the draft Decision imposing mandatory
requirements on Member States exceeded the competence conferred
on the EU under Article 196 TFEU; it questioned whether certain
measures, such as the development of a European Emergency Response
Capacity or an EU logistical support capability, were justified
in terms of EU added value; and it said that the budget was too
large. Our Fourth Report of 14 June 2012 suggested that little
headway had been made in negotiations. However, a further update
by the Government in January (described in our Thirty-first Report
agreed on 6 February 2013) indicated that considerable progress
had been made and that the Irish Presidency intended to seek a
partial general approach on all elements of the draft Decision,
with the exception of the budget, at the Justice and Home Affairs
Council on 7/8 March.
27.3 We welcomed efforts to reinforce the voluntary
nature of Member State contributions to the European Emergency
Response Capacity and to limit the role of the EU to identifying
capacity gaps within the strengthened EU Civil Protection Mechanism,
rather than providing EU funding to help Member States fill the
gaps or to develop response capacities at EU level. We thought
that the outcome of negotiations on this aspect of the draft Decision
was likely to have a particularly significant impact on the demands
that might be placed on the EU's civil protection budget for the
period 2014-20 and so asked the Government to provide a further
progress report in advance of the March Justice and Home Affairs
Council.
27.4 In light of that progress report, which indicated
that the Government had achieved many of its negotiating objectives,
we agreed to grant a scrutiny waiver, but asked the Government
to provide a further update when there was greater clarity on
the budget available for the Civil Protection Mechanism.
The Minister's letter of 9 July
27.5 The Minister for Political and Constitutional
Reform (Miss Chloe Smith) informs us that a political agreement
was not reached at the March Justice and Home Affairs Council
but that the scrutiny waiver enabled the Government to secure
an acceptable outcome subsequently, in May, and to agree a mandate
for the Council to enter into trilogue negotiations with the European
Parliament. She continues:
"By working with like-minded Member States we
have secured an outcome that meets our objectives and addresses
the areas of concern identified in the Explanatory Memorandum.
In particular, we have limited EU co-funding for filling gaps
in response capacities to areas where risk assessment and gap
identification processes confirm that no capacities were available
to Member States. We have developed the original proposals around
the development of a common buffer against shared risks so that
they focus on the establishment and management of framework contracts
to address potential significant shortcomings in response to extraordinary
disasters. These arrangements would ensure such assets were under
the operational control of the requesting state who would not
only pay for their operational use, but where applicable, also
pay a significant share of any standby costs. We secured a cap
on the percentage of the civil protection budget available for
this activity (likely to be around €5m per annum). We judge
that these criteria coupled with the involvement of Member States
in the development of the associated arrangements provide adequate
safeguards and respect the important principles of subsidiarity
and proportionality."
27.6 Turning to the budget for the Civil Protection
Mechanism, the Minister explains that the Commission's original
proposal for €513 million for the period 2014-20 has been
reduced to take account of negotiations on the EU's Multiannual
Financial Framework for 2014-20. A new figure of €326.6
million has been proposed, of which nearly €200 million would
support civil protection activities within the EU and the remainder
actions outside the EU. She adds that the money available to
spend each year for civil protection activities permitted by the
draft Decision will be discussed and agreed by Member States and
the Commission in the Civil Protection Committee.
27.7 The Minister anticipates that the changes agreed
by the Council to the Commission's original proposal will meet
with some resistance in the European Parliament, but adds:
"We believe the proposals are now in much better
shape and with unanimous Council support we are hopeful it will
be possible to secure an acceptable early agreement with the European
Parliament. We will continue to work closely with like-minded
partners to resist any unacceptable changes."
27.8 The Minister also provides a brief overview
of the Lithuanian Presidency's civil protection priorities. These
include: concluding negotiations on the Civil Protection Mechanism;
hosting a workshop to discuss the safety and shelter of citizens
in the event of a disaster requiring an evacuation; taking forward
discussions on a Commission Communication on Critical Infrastructure
Protection; and facilitating further consideration of a number
of cross-cutting issues which affect civil protection, including
implementation of the Solidarity Clause, crisis response arrangements,
consular cooperation and humanitarian aid.
Conclusion
- We thank the Minister for
her letter and note the progress that has been made in reducing
the budget for the Civil Protection Mechanism and in ensuring
that EU co-funding to fill gaps in civil protection response capacities
is subject to a risk assessment and limited to situations in which
the relevant capacities are not available to Member States. We
welcome the Government's commitment to working closely with like-minded
partners during the trilogue process to protect the changes agreed
by the Council and are now content to clear the draft Decision
from scrutiny.
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