Bulgaria Commits to Establishment of New European Disaster Management System

Bulgaria will raise the theme for the establishment of a new European disaster management system at the Summit in June, Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Valentin Radev said on 12^th of April after a meeting with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides. According to the EU, Member States lost 10 billion euros from natural disasters and crises in 2016, and 200 people died in fires and floods in 2017.

What both the Prime Minister and what Commissioner Stylianidis proposed, were all proposals in one direction: to makse so European citizens feel more secure and safer from such disasters and accidents. This is actually his portfolio, his aera of responsibility, and it is his initiative and desire if this topic can get finanlised by the end of the year, minister Radev said.

Christos Stylianidis, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management: With this new plan, we want to enhance the EU's disaster response capacity in general. With the new rescEU mechanism, our intention is for Member States to have the right to use their capabilities to deal with these situations. We have also envisaged funds to help countries. It will contribute to the overall strengthening and improvement of the European safety net.