Union assistance in response actions
1. Any Member State that provides civil protection assistance or deploys a rescEU capacity under Article 34 may request Union assistance in accordance with Article 54.
2. Union assistance may take the form of:
(a)
awarding grants to Member States to cover equipment, transport and logistical resources and any additional necessary supporting and complementary action in order to facilitate the coordination of response;
(b)
facilitating access to equipment, transport and logistical resources and services in the form of pooling with other Member States and of access to the commercial market or other sources through the Commission, such as transport services procured from private or other entities.
3. Where costs relating to a request for Union assistance referred to in paragraph 2 are lower than EUR 10 000, they shall not be eligible unless they are covered by the framework partnerships referred to in paragraph 4, or relate to the deployment of rescEU capacities or the facilitation of access to equipment, transport and logistical resources and services in the form of pooling with other Member States.
4. The Commission may establish financial framework partnerships with the relevant competent authorities of Member States referred to in Article 130 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 10 ) .
Requests for Union assistance in response actions
1. Requests for Union assistance shall be issued by the competent authority referred to in Article 57 and sent to the Commission via CECIS or electronic mail (or other electronic means) before any response action related to that request takes place. The Commission shall inform the requesting authority what information is needed in order to proceed with the request.
2. Upon receipt of a request for Union assistance by the Commission, the costs of the requested response action shall become eligible for Union financing, without prejudice to Article 55.
3. The Commission may decide to use a dedicated electronic exchange system for all exchanges with beneficiaries, including the conclusion of grant agreements and the notification of grant decisions and any amendments thereto, pursuant to Article 148 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.
4. Upon receipt of a request for Union assistance for a response action, the Commission shall notify the contact points designated by Member States under Article 9(7) of Decision 1313/2013/EU via the CECIS.
5. If a Member State requests Union assistance as referred to in Article 53(2), point (b), the Commission may invite Member States or private operators, or both, to provide it with details of any equipment, transport and logistics resources which they can offer. The Commission shall indicate a deadline for providing that information.
6. The Commission shall share the information received pursuant to paragraph 5 with the Member State making the request, together with any other information the Commission has concerning equipment, transport and logistics resources available from other sources, including the commercial market, and shall help the Member States to access those additional resources.
7. The Member State making the request shall inform the Commission of the equipment, transport and logistics solutions that Member State has selected, and shall liaise with the Member States providing such support or the operator providing such services identified by the Commission. It shall also inform the Commission of the progress made in the provision of its civil protection assistance.
8. Where the Member State selects services provided by the commercial market, it shall confirm in writing its request for a transport and logistical service and its commitment to reimburse the Commission in accordance with paragraph 9.
9. For the costs incurred by the Commission when the requesting Member State selects services provided by the commercial market, the Commission shall issue a debit note to the Member State that has benefited from the Union’s financial assistance.
10. In the case of Article 53(2), point (b), one Member State may take the lead in coordinating the procedure under this Article.
Decision on Union assistance for response actions
1. When assessing the requests in accordance with Article 53, the Commission shall take the following into account:
(a)
the information contained in the request for Union financing assistance for response actions submitted by the Member State in accordance with Article 54(1);
(b)
the needs expressed by the affected country activating the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, the needs identified by the ERCC and the needs of other affected countries, as in the case of consular assistance activations;
(c)
any needs assessments carried out by the EUCP Team deployed in the affected country and experts reporting to the Commission immediately before or during the disaster;
(d)
other relevant and reliable information available to the Commission at the time of the decision provided by Member States and by international organisations;
(e)
the efficiency and effectiveness of transport and logistical solutions or operations designed to ensure the timely delivery of civil protection assistance;
(f)
other relevant actions undertaken by the Commission.
2. Member States shall provide any additional information needed to assess the requests in accordance with Article 53. Following the receipt of a request from the Commission for additional information, Member States shall provide the requested information as soon as possible.
3. The Commission shall indicate the amount of pre-financing payment to be paid. This pre-financing payment may be up to 85 % of the requested Union financial contribution, subject to the availability of budgetary resources. No pre-financing shall be provided for response actions that have already been completed. No pre-financing shall be provided if grants do not meet the threshold established for low-value grants defined in Article 2, point (41), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, unless the Member State requesting financial support can demonstrate that the absence of pre-financing would compromise the implementation of the response action.
4. The Commission shall immediately communicate the decision on Union assistance in response actions to the Member State requesting financial support and to all other Member States.
Compensation for damage
Notwithstanding Article 340 of the Treaty, the Member State requesting Union assistance shall refrain from making any request for compensation from the Union for damage caused to its property or service staff where such damage is the consequence of the provision of transport resources or services governed by this Decision, unless it is proven to be the result of intent or gross negligence.
Designation of competent authorities
1. Member States shall designate the competent authorities to request and receive Union financial assistance or shall authorise other entities to request and receive Union financial assistance, for implementing other response actions on the basis of Article 22, point (c), of Decision 1313/2013/EU. They shall inform the Commission accordingly and immediately notify the Commission of any changes.
2. Entities that own capacities or effectively control capacities that are pre-committed to the ECPP, when they are deployed, may be designated or authorised by the Member States within the meaning of paragraph 1.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
