The leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had a meeting with the representatives of the General Directorate of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations of the European Union (DG ECHO).
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Adrian Efros, and the Director General of DG ECHO, Maciej Popowski.
“We appreciate the EU’s peer review mission that took place in the Republic of Moldova. We are enthusiastic to officially receive the peer review report, and I assure you that we will take all the recommendations very seriously, because they are closely related to our commitments which are also in the course towards reaching the membership in the European Union”, said the Minister of Internal Affairs.
The discussions focused on the conclusions identified after following the complex assessment carried out by DG ECHO representatives in April 2023. Thus, the main strengths that have been highlighted in our country’s disaster risk management system are: effective collaboration with local authorities, collaboration with civil society organizations and citizens in case of emergency situations, good structuring of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, excellent risk management planning program, good risk awareness campaigns at national and subnational level, development of volunteerism among firefighters, development of the public guide on the necessary actions to be undertaken in the first 72 hours of a crisis, well-organized and efficient fire dispatchers, participation in various international exercises, but also effective cooperation with neighboring countries.
At the same time, as a result of the evaluation carried out by the European experts, the main priorities and commitments in the field of civil protection of the Republic of Moldova for 2024 were presented: the adaptation of the legislation, the concentration of capabilities not only on response, but also on preparation and prevention, the creation of a early warning system in case of exceptional situations but also a public warning system, updating civil protection plans at local level, modernizing existing training modules, and also performing risk analysis.
It is to be noted that between April 25-28, 2023, a delegation of the European Commission composed by 15 experts from the General Directorate of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations DG ECHO, was on a peer review mission in the Republic of Moldova regarding disaster risk prevention and management unit, and carried out a complex process of evaluation in this field.
The overall objective was to identify areas that can be improved, and the assessment focused on the following key aspects: disaster risk reduction management, disaster loss assessment, risk management planning, risk prevention, emergency preparedness and response, but also the disaster recovery.
A disaster risk management assessment provides an opportunity for a country to reflect on its preparedness to deal with natural and man-made disasters and to identify ways to improve disaster prevention, preparedness and response.
DG ECHO supports member states to review their disaster risk management policies and practices, taking analyses of strengths and weaknesses, formulating recommendations to increase their effectiveness.
Based on an independent review, civil protection authorities have the opportunity to improve their disaster risk management capabilities, identify better policy and operational approaches and adopt good practices, but also sensitize stakeholders to get involved in disaster risk management.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism Accession Agreement was signed on September 29, 2023, in Chisinau, by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Adrian Efros, and the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič.
Previously, in September 2022, the Republic of Moldova officially requested to join the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union, and in October 2022, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations requested a peer assessment of disaster risk management capabilities. This represents an opportunity to identify good practices and areas that need to be strengthened, but also a step on our country’s path towards European integration.
