Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/706 of 5 May 2022 laying down rules for the application of Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards criteria and procedures for recognising long-standing commitment and extraordinary contributions to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (notified under document C(2022) 2884) (Text with EEA relevance)
Data as of 2026-07-04 · Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Subject matter
This Decision sets out the criteria and procedures to award Union Civil Protection Mechanism medals (‘UCPM medals’) in order to recognise and honour longstanding commitment and extraordinary contributions to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (‘Union Mechanism’).
Definitions
For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply: (1) ‘person of good character’ means a person who is clear of any previous criminal convictions; (2) ‘outstanding bravery’ means exceptional courage or courageous endurance above expectations while that is shown in action; (3) ‘extraordinary meritorious achievement’ means very high level of accomplishment, which is beyond what is ordinary or usual.
Types of UCPM medals
1. The Commission shall award the following two types of UCPM medals: (a) medal for long-standing commitment; (b) medal for extraordinary contribution. 2. Recipients of the medals shall not be entitled to any financial benefit. 3. The UCPM medals shall not be awarded more than once per type to the same natural person, modules, intervention teams, TAST and other response capacities. They may be awarded posthumously.
Eligibility
1. UCPM medals may be awarded to the following natural persons for their contribution to the Union Mechanism: (a) members of the civil protection and disaster management personnel of the Member States or of participating States to the Union Mechanism; (b) members of other authorities, entities or bodies contributing to the actions under the Union Mechanism; (c) Union citizens or third country citizens. Those natural persons shall be of good character. 2. UCPM medals may also be awarded to the following entities for their contribution to the Union Mechanism: (a) modules established in accordance with Decision No 1313/2013/EU; (b) intervention teams as defined in Article 2(4) of Commission Implementing Decision 2014/762/EU ( 3 ) ; (c) technical assistance and support teams (‘TAST’) as defined in Article 2(5) of Implementing Decision 2014/762/EU; (d) other response capacities as referred to in Article 9(4) of Decision No 1313/2013/EU. Those entities shall be registered in the Common Emergency Communication and Information System (CECIS). 3. Union staff subject to Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Union, laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 ( 4 ) shall not be eligible for the UCPM medals.
Eligibility period
The eligibility period for awarding UCPM medals shall begin on 21 March 2019.
Medal for long-standing commitment
The UCPM medal for long-standing commitment may be awarded to eligible recipients referred to in Article 4(1) and (2) who fulfil one of the following conditions: (a) they have been deployed on at least three occasions in response operations under the Union Mechanism; (b) they have shown long-standing professional commitment to prevention or preparedness actions under the Union Mechanism. The periods of time dedicated by the eligible recipients concerned to such actions shall be taken as an acknowledgment of their commitment.
Medal for extraordinary contributions
The UCPM medal for extraordinary contribution may be awarded to eligible recipients referred to in Article 4(1) and (2) who fulfil one of the following conditions: (a) they have demonstrated an act of outstanding bravery, an extraordinary meritorious achievement or an activity beyond what might reasonably be expected during a response operation under the Union Mechanism; (b) they have contributed an extraordinary meritorious achievement to the development of the Union Mechanism at large.
Nomination
1. The Commission and Member States may submit nominations to the Award Board for the award of: (a) UCPM medals for long-standing commitment based on the criteria laid down in Article 6; (b) UCPM medals for extraordinary contribution based on the criteria laid down in Article 7. 2. The Commission, through the Emergency Response Coordination Centre, shall regularly review nominations and report to the Award Board when the criteria referred to in Article 6 are fulfilled.
Award Board and award decision
1. An Award Board shall be established to review the nominations submitted by the Commission or the Member States in accordance with Article 8 and make recommendations to the Commission with respect to the award the UCPM medals. 2. The Award Board shall consist of three representatives of the Commission. 3. The Commission shall convene the Award Board at least 1 month prior to the holding of any ceremony referred to in Article 11(1). The Award Board shall take into account the gender balance and geographical distribution when deciding upon the award of the UCPM medals.
Revoking and renouncing the awarded UCPM medals
1. The Commission shall revoke any of the UCPM medals awarded in the event of criminal conviction, or any action that is dishonourable or that may harm the interests of the Union. 2. The recipients shall reserve the right to renounce the awarded UCPM medal.
Awards ceremony of UCPM medals
1. UCPM medals shall be awarded at the European Civil Protection Forum, or where appropriate, at formal ceremonies on an ad-hoc basis. 2. UCPM medals shall be handed over to the recipients or their representatives by a representative of the Commission. 3. Where the recipient of the UCPM medal is a module, intervention team, TAST or other response capacity, the UCPM medal shall be handed over to the team leader or their representative who receives it on behalf of the respective module, intervention team, TAST or other response capacity.
Design and online public register
1. The Commission shall determine the design and model of the UCPM medals. 2. The Commission shall maintain an online public register of recipients of UCPM medals.
Wearing of the UCPM medals
The wearing of the UCPM medals shall be governed by the relevant regulations of the recipient’s State.
Addressees
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.