The EU thinks power outages and emergencies are possible in Europe – you need to know

In view of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, the European Commission considers power cuts and other emergencies within the EU possible. “It is quite possible that emergency aid will also be needed within the EU,” said the EU’s Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, of the editorial network Germany.

What scenarios are you going for?

Those responsible within the EU therefore work with two conceivable emergency scenarios:

What equipment does the EU have ready for emergencies?

According to EU Commissioner Lenarčič, this emergency reserve includes firefighting aircraft, generators, water pumps and fuel, as well as medical equipment and now medicines.

In the course of the corona pandemic, the European Commission had already armed itself against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies. “We have now been able to deliver five million iodine tablets to Ukraine for residents of endangered nuclear power plants,” he said.

Who will the EU support in an emergency?

All EU Member States and all other countries in the world can call on the EU Civil Protection Program in case of forest fires, floods, earthquakes and similar acute crises.

Aid with equipment and materials from other EU countries is then coordinated and forwarded by the program under the Crisis Protection Commissioner. In an emergency, this can be done the same day, he emphasizes.

Can the EU deliver quickly enough in an emergency despite the bureaucracy?

The EU Commissioner for Crisis Protection assures that this is possible. For example, Slovenia, whose electricity grid was damaged after a snow storm in 2014, and Croatia were able to help with generators and fuel on the same day after the earthquakes at the end of 2021.

What triggers Russia with its illegal activities?

The responsible EU Commissioner has a clear position on this. The very fact that the Russian leadership is manipulating the energy supply to the world market is starting to become a burden for many people, especially since the energy crisis is also driving up food prices and making food unaffordable for millions of people.

This crisis will be further exacerbated “by the blockade or occupation of 90 percent of the ports on the Black Sea through which Ukraine, as one of the largest exporters of agricultural products to date, supplies the world”.

It was very difficult to solve this problem, but the EU very quickly organized “solidarity corridors” so that so far ten million goods have been exported by rail, road and waterways. At the same time, mediation by the United Nations and Turkey was supported to open the ports.

Is the EU neglecting other countries in need because of the war in Ukraine?

no The EU Commissioner for Crisis Protection says:

Who is the EU Commissioner for Crisis Protection?

rnd.de writes about Janez Lenarčič:

sources

(dsc)