Austria, Slovakia and Italy have activated the EU civil protection mechanism, PAP reports. The system allows member states, coordinated by the European Commission, to jointly respond to large-scale crises. The mechanism has previously been used to repatriate EU citizens in emergency situations. Polish Radio was the first to report the launch of the mechanism by the authorities in Rome.
EC spokeswoman Eva Hrnczirzova told PAP that consultations on this matter between the EC and member states took place on Monday and Tuesday.
— The situation is dynamic and for security reasons we will not announce the details of any operations. Our main priorities are to support Member States in dealing with this situation and to protect EU citizens, she described.
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Radosław Sikorski on possible evacuation. “It is the subject of deliberation”
EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib stressed on social media that “the safety of EU citizens is the top priority.” “The EU Emergency Response Coordination Center is coordinating efforts to bring citizens home,” she added.
However, the head of Polish diplomacy clearly emphasized that there is still no decision on this matter. — The evacuation is the subject of a crisis team meeting. Evacuating citizens from an airport with commercial flights would not be the height of rationality, he noted.
Evacuation of EU citizens. Special mechanism
EU Member States can activate the mechanism to apply for consular assistance for their citizens. The largest operation carried out under the EU mechanism so far was the repatriation of EU citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Thanks to it, 100,000 people returned to the EU from third countries. people.
As part of the evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021, 3,000 people were brought to the EU. citizens of EU countries and 7 thousand Afghans. In 2024, the mechanism helped to safely evacuate almost 1.4 thousand people. European citizens from places such as Haiti, the Middle East and Vanuatu.
