What types of disasters does the Civil Protection Mechanism cover?
The Mechanism can be activated in response to any type of natural or man-made disaster, such as earthquakes, floods, forest fires, industrial accidents, marine pollution or terrorist attacks. What can the Civil Protection Mechanism do in the case of marine pollution incidents? The Commission has provided operational support to Member States faced with major pollution incidents through a 24/7 “Urgent Pollution Alert Section” since 1987. With the establishment of the Civil Protection Mechanism in 2001, the Mechanism has covered both civil protection and marine pollution emergencies. If it receives a request for assistance in relation to a marine pollution incident, it forwards it to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), which manages a stand-by vessel oil recovery service for European sea areas. This network of response vessels is ready to be mobilised, upon request, when the scale of a pollution incident is beyond that of the resources available in the affected country. Outside Eu
