What the EU does
The EU plays a critical role in coordinating disaster responses across Europe and beyond, addressing epidemics, floods, storms, forest fires, earthquakes, and human-induced disasters.
Civil protection assistance consists of aid delivered before or immediately after a disaster strikes. This aid can come in the form of supplies such as medicines, shelter items, and water purification units. Specialised teams, such as firefighters or search and rescue teams, are often deployed, along with experts who assess and coordinate relief efforts on the ground. Additionally, the repatriation of EU citizens is an important part of the assistance provided.
Key objectives:
- save and preserve life
- prevent and alleviate human suffering
- safeguard the integrity and dignity of populations affected by natural hazards and human-made crises
Facts and figures
Areas of action
Framework for cooperation between the EU countries and 10 participating states in responding to natural hazards and human-induced disasters
Coordination hub monitoring events around the globe 24/7 and ensuring rapid deployment of emergency support
Building more resilient response systems through early warning and information
Supporting EU countries when a crisis reaches unprecedented scale and impact
Quick medical assistance and public health expertise to a health emergency inside and outside the EU
Strategic reserve of European disaster response capacities, from firefighting planes and helicopters to medical items and field hospitals
EU response to wildfires in Europe and beyond
Assistance for consular support to citizens in emergencies, for example, in the context of evacuation operations
EU support for preventive, preparedness, response and recovery actions
Key achievements
- The EU Civil Protection Mechanism can be deployed inside and outside the EU, allowing any country to request assistance. In 2024, the Mechanism was activated 58 times to respond to, among other, (i) war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East (ii) floods in France, Czechia, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Spain; (iii) wildfires in Europe and Latin America; (iv) tropical cyclone Chido in Mayotte.
- The EU has been running its largest-ever emergency operation under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, in response to the war in Ukraine. All 27 EU Member States and 6 participating states have offered in-kind assistance, including millions of items such as first aid kits, shelter equipment, firefighting equipment, water pumps, power generators, and fuel. The EU is also coordinating medical evacuations of Ukrainian patients in urgent need of treatment, transferring them to hospitals across Europe.
- rescEU is a strategic reserve of European disaster response capabilities and stockpiles, fully funded by the EU. It comprises a fleet of firefighting planes and helicopters, a medical evacuation plane, and several essential stockpiles. These include field hospitals, transport assets, energy and shelter items, critical medical supplies, and equipment to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies.
- Pooling together civil protection capacities allows for a stronger and more coherent collective response. For the 2024 wildfire season, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Sweden put together 24 firefighting planes and 4 helicopters at the disposal of other Member States in case of an emergency.
- Thanks to the European Medical Corps programme, quick medical assistance and public health expertise can be provided in response to health emergencies inside and outside the EU. Recent deployments took place in response to COVID-19, explosions, earthquakes, and tropical cyclones.
In focus
Due to climate change, wildfires are becoming more frequent and more destructive. In 2025 alone, a record 1 million hectares of land across the EU burned in wildfires. In response, the EU is deploying a record number of firefighters, aircraft and emergency experts this summer to help protect lives, homes and nature.
This page was last updated on 2 June 2026