Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/570 of 8 April 2019 laying down rules for the implementation of Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards rescEU capacities and amending Commission Implementing Decision 2014/762/EU (notified under document C(2019) 2644) (Text with EEA relevance.)

• CELEX: Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/570
• Articles: 6

Article 1 Subject matter

This Decision lays down rules for the implementation of Decision No 1313/2013/EU as regards:

(a)

the initial composition of rescEU in terms of capacities and its quality requirements;

(b)

the financing of capacities during the transitional period referred to in Article 35 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU.

Article 2 The initial composition of rescEU

1.   rescEU shall consist of aerial forest firefighting capacities.

2.   The aerial forest firefighting capacities referred to in paragraph 1 shall include:

(a)

aerial forest firefighting capacities using airplanes;

(b)

aerial forest firefighting capacities using helicopters.

3.   The quality requirements for the capacities referred to in paragraph 2 are set out in the Annex.

Article 3 Financial arrangements for the rescEU capacities referred to in Article 35 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU

1.   The Commission shall define in the annual work programme the criteria for awarding direct grants to cover the costs referred to in Article 35 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU which are necessary to ensure rapid access to capacities corresponding to those referred to in Article 2.

2.   The costs referred to in Article 35 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU shall include stand-by costs, including if applicable, costs related to maintenance, costs related to staff, costs related to training, including the training of crew and technical staff, costs related to warehousing, costs related to insurance, as well as other costs necessary to ensure the effective availability of such capacities.

Article 4 Amendment to Implementing Decision 2014/762/EU

Chapter 7 of Implementing Decision 2014/762/EU is deleted.

Article 5 Addressees

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Schedules & Appendices

ANNEX

ANNEX

QUALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR RESCEU CAPACITIES

1.    Aerial forest firefighting capacities using airplanes

Tasks

—

Contribute to the extinction of large forest and vegetal fires by performing aerial firefighting.

Capacities

—

2 airplanes with a minimum capacity of 3 000 litres each or 1 airplane with a minimum capacity of 8 000 litres  ( 1 ) .

—

Ability to perform continuous operations.

Main components

—

Airplane.

—

Minimum of two crews.

—

Technical staff.

—

Field maintenance kit.

—

Communication equipment allowing air-to-air and air-to-ground communication.

Self-sufficiency

—

Equipment storage and maintenance of the equipment of the module;

—

Equipment for the communication with the relevant partners, notably those in charge of the coordination on site.

Deployment

—

Availability for departure maximum 3 hours after the acceptance of the offer in the case of a rapid intervention response  ( 2 ) .

—

Ability to be deployed in a range of 2 000 km within maximum 24 hours.

2.    Aerial forest firefighting capacities using helicopters

Tasks

—

Contribute to the extinction of large forest and vegetal by performing aerial firefighting.

Capacities

—

1 helicopter with a minimum capacity of 3 000 litres  ( 3 )

—

Ability to perform continuous operations.

Main components

—

Helicopter with minimum two crews.

—

Technical staff.

—

Water bucket or releasing kit.

—

1 maintenance set.

—

1 spare parts set.

—

Rescue hoists.

—

Communication equipment allowing air-to-air and air-to-ground communication.

Self-sufficiency

—

Equipment storage and maintenance of the equipment of the module;

—

Equipment for the communication with the relevant partners, notably those in charge of the coordination on site.

Deployment

—

Availability for departure maximum 3 hours after the acceptance of the offer in the case of a rapid intervention response  ( 4 ) .

—

Ability to be deployed in a range of 2 000 km within maximum 24 hours.

( 1 )   Such requirements may be subject to review based on possible developments on the market of aerial forest firefighting capacities, including in relation to the availability of spare parts.

( 2 )   Rapid intervention response is a response operation lasting maximum one day including the flight to and from the site where the rescEU capacity is positioned.

( 3 )   For the purposes of implementing Article 35 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU and when justified based on assessment of regional vulnerability, aerial forest firefighting capacities using helicopters may be composed of maximum 3 helicopters with a total minimum capacity of 3 000 litres.

( 4 )   Rapid intervention response is a response operation lasting maximum one day including the flight to and from the site where the rescEU capacity is positioned.