rescEU - European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations: 

rescEU

Page contents

• What is it?
• Why is this important?
• How are we helping?
• rescEU at a glance
• Facts & figures
• Related information

What is it?

The European Commission upgraded the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and created rescEU to further protect citizens from disasters and to manage emerging risks.

rescEU was established as 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.

rescEU reserves are hosted in strategic locations across 22 Members States and participating states.

Why is this important?

The EU plays a key role in coordinating disaster response efforts both within Europe and beyond. In recent years, disasters have impacted every region of Europe, resulting in hundreds of casualties and causing billions in damage to infrastructure and the environment.

Epidemics, flash floods, storms, wildfires, earthquakes, and human-induced disasters continuously put pressure on the countries’ crisis response capacities. Additionally, growing security concerns, coupled with the worsening effects of climate change, are expected to exacerbate the frequency and severity of disasters in the future.

Conflict on the European continent, extreme weather events and emerging threats, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can limit the ability of Member States to help each other, especially when several countries simultaneously face the same type of crisis.

In such cases, when Member States require reinforcement to respond to overlapping emergencies, the EU’s rescEU reserve provides an extra layer of protection, ensuring an effective and more comprehensive disaster response.

How are we helping?

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related needs within the country and the surrounding region, the EU has deployed medical evacuation services as well as assistance from its rescEU medical (CBRN), energy and shelter stockpiles hosted in various locations across the EU.

The rescEU assistance includes medical items such as (i) ventilators, (ii) infusion pumps, (iii) patient monitors, (iv) masks and gowns, (v) ultrasound devices, (vi) oxygen concentrators, (vii) antidotes, (viii) potassium iodide tablets, (ix) decontamination supplies, (x) gas masks, (xi) chemical detectors, and more.

It also encompasses power generators to help Ukrainians meet their basic needs and thousands of shelters to host those displaced by the war across the country.

The rescEU assistance comes on top of aid offered by European countries and is coordinated under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Collectively, this is the largest and most complex EU civil protection operation since the creation of the Mechanism in 2001.

Facts & figures

rescEU is an integral part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, providing an additional layer of protection against disasters for European citizens.

rescEU strengthens Europe’s disaster preparedness by establishing strategic reserves of emergency response capacities, such as:

• firefighting planes and helicopters
• medical capabilities
• chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) capabilities
• strategic stockpiles of medical and CBRN items
• mobile shelters
• emergency transportation
• power generators

These capacities are hosted across 22 Member States and participating states.

rescEU is fully financed by the EU, covering the costs of purchase, operations, and maintenance.

Last updated: 06/02/2025

Related information

• Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC)
• EU Civil Protection Mechanism
• Wildfires
• Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network
• Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (13 March 2019)