A large-scale EU civil protection exercise is bringing together 235 first responders from Austria, Czechia, Estonia, France, Romania and Ukraine in Suceava County, Romania, from 28 September to 2 October.
The drill, known as CROSSFLOOD, is designed to test how emergency teams and academic institutions work together in a complex scenario involving floods, contamination and conflict-related hazards, the European Commission revealed on Tuesday.
It is being organised under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism — the framework used to co-ordinate assistance between countries during disasters.
The EU is providing almost €1 million to cover 90% of the exercise’s cost.
Part of the EU’s preparedness plans
Regular EU exercises are listed as an action under the Preparedness Union Strategy, which sets out measures to strengthen Europe’s readiness for complex crises, the Commission said.
CROSSFLOOD follows an “all-hazards” approach, preparing for situations where different risks can interact.
Preparedness was raised again by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address earlier this month, when she said Europe needs to “step up dramatically on preparedness.”
The exercise will be followed by an evaluation to draw lessons for future emergency response operations.
