797th meeting – 29 May 2002

Item 12.3

Local Authorities confronting natural disasters and emergencies
Draft reply to Recommendation 108 (2002) of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE)
(CLRAE REC_108 (2002))

(See supplementary information to the reply: CM/Del/Dec(2002)805/12.2 )

Decision

The Deputies adopted the following reply to CLRAE Recommendation 108 (2002) on Local Authorities confronting natural disasters and emergencies:

“1. The Committee of Ministers has considered CLRAE Recommendation 108 (2002) on Local Authorities confronting natural disasters and emergencies and shares the concerns of the Congress at the frequency of major disasters which cause material and cultural damage and loss of human lives. The Committee of Ministers welcomes the Congress’s initiative to identify the scope and impact of such disasters and to draw conclusions for policy proposals so that improvements could be made in anticipating and/or preventing the disasters happening, when this is possible.

2. The Committee of Ministers wishes to inform the Congress that it has recently (March 2002) adopted a recommendation to member states on transfrontier co-operation in civil protection and mutual assistance in the event of natural and technological disasters occurring in frontier areas. The recommendation was prepared on the basis of information provided by member states. It contains a series of recommendations on action to be taken in order to organise rescue and provide relief in the event of major disasters occurring in border areas, taking into account the transfrontier dimension of the event and the role of local authorities. The Committee of Ministers recommends that member states “strengthen their capabilities to face more effectively the consequences of a major natural or man-made disaster, including in their frontier areas, by encouraging all forms of international cooperation and mutual assistance in the field, including the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement’s activities”.

3. The Committee of Ministers forwarded Recommendation 108 (2002) to governments of member states, to the European Commission, the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) and the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement, asking the latter to consider certain proposals of the recommendation including the promotion of the establishment of an European Observatory for the prevention and management of natural disasters and emergencies. This will be done at the Agreement’s meeting mid-June this year. It has also encouraged governments of its member states which have not already done so to sign and ratify the Convention on civil liability for damage resulting from activities dangerous to the environment (Lugano, 1993) and the Convention on the protection of the environment through criminal law (Strasbourg, 1998).”