Moldova to join EU Civil Protection Mechanism

Chisinau, 28 April /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova today was invited to join the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič has made statements to this effect at a news briefing held jointly with Interior Minister Ana Revenco.   
Thus, Moldovan firemen and rescuers enter the last phase of preparation, to join the strongest international network of cooperation in the field of disasters’ prevention, preparation and response to them.   
Interior Minister Ana Revenco said that Moldova’s rapprochement with the EU Civil Protection Mechanism had started in 2022, when the application on accession was submitted. At that time, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) of the Interior Ministry (MAI) demanded an assessment of the capacities of management of the disasters risks. Two European Commission’s missions for assessing Moldova’s intervention capacities have already taken place.    
„The results of the assessments showed that the presence and the proactive involvement of Moldovan firemen and rescuers in the management of the humanitarian crisis since the first days of the war in Ukraine substantially sped up and improved our country’s capacities of civil protection and response to crises. Even if the war doubled the volume of IGSU interventions, with some of them fulfilled for the first time ever, Moldovan firemen and rescuers quickly intervened in more than 30,000 high risk missions. Over 800,000 refugees from Ukraine were helped by our rescuers and firemen. IGSU set and managed for them three temporary camps with everything necessary for a decent living; set up and managed a temporary station for the emergency carriage of refugees to final destinations. During disconnections from power supply which occurred in late last year, IGSU supplied all units of firemen and rescuers with alternative energy sources, so that they, as well as a good deal of the police inspectorates work uninterruptedly,’’ the minister said.           .
Ana Revenco noted that, also on this period, Moldova had hosted and participated in an international exercise, proving exceptional results. Moldovan firemen and rescuers tested the capacities and the inter-operability of the country’s civil protection system, along with another 13 participating countries.     
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič today presented to Moldova the roadmap for accession to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. ‘’The progress made by Moldova in consolidating its civil protection capacities is obvious and gives inspiration. On visit here, in Chisinau, I am proud to hand to Minister Revenco the roadmap of the European Commission, through which the latter invites Moldova to join the mechanism. The accession to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism will represent the next crucial step for Moldova and the resistance of the entire European continent as regards the disasters’ management. Becoming participating state, Moldova will consolidate even more the capacity to efficiently respond to emergencies and disasters, benefiting, at the same time, from support and solidarity on behalf of the European Union,’’ the European official said.       
Following the negotiation and signing of the administrative agreement, Moldova will officially become member of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. This new status will bring the Moldovan citizens protection services of the highest level, in the most complex crisis situations. In this way, we will be able to rely on the support on behalf of those 27 EU countries and nine participating countries (Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Turkey, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania and most recently, Ukraine). At the same time, when an emergency situation exceeds the capacities of response of a country from Europe and not only, Moldovan firemen and rescuers will be called to provide support through the Mechanism, along with their European colleagues.