The third exercise to test the functioning of the EU's Emergency and Crisis Coordination Arrangements in Brussels (CCA) was conducted successfully on Tuesday September 23rd, 2008. The results of the exercise performed this year to assess crisis management and response mechanisms, confirmed that the arrangements work well, and the lessons learned will allow them to be improved further.

The main objective of the exercise, conducted by the Presidency, with the support of the Council Secretariat and the Commission, was to verify the ability of the arrangements to respond quickly and efficiently to a major crisis at EU level and the capacity of the Council Secretariat and the Commission to support effectively Member States' crisis response efforts.

The exercise was based on a totally fictitious scenario. It assumed a major natural disaster, a twin storm affecting a large number of Member States and causing damage to private and public infrastructures, disruption of transport and communication lines, power cuts and environmental consequences. It focused on the key political issues requiring political coordination at EU level.

The exercise scenario involved recourse to a range of EU instruments such as the Civil Protection Mechanism, humanitarian aid, the Instrument for Stability and the European Solidarity Fund.

The operational actions of the active phase of the exercise were conducted on September 23rd, although the whole exercise was conducted from September 22nd to 24th.

Crisis Coordination Arrangements in Brussels (CCA)

On June 1st, 2006, the Council (Justice and Home Affairs) approved Crisis Coordination Arrangements in Brussels (CCA). The arrangements are part of the EU's crisis management mechanisms.

The CCA provides Member States' Permanent Representatives in Brussels with a platform for exchanging information and coordinating action, in the context of an emergency or crisis whose nature is deemed to be sufficiently serious (e.g. simultaneously affecting several Member States and the interests of the Union as a whole) to require an exceptional response at EU level.

The actions taken in the development of a common framework for crisis management and security concerns, such as critical EU infrastructures protection which is part of the European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection (EPCIP), not only involve security concerns related to terrorist actions, but also the potential disruption that might be caused at EU level by any type of crisis, such as natural disasters.

The arrangements are triggered in the framework of the Council by the Member State holding the Presidency, assisted by the Council Secretariat and the Commission, in consultation with the directly affected Member States.

In setting up these arrangements, the Council invited the Council Secretariat, in full collaboration with the European Commission, to hold regular exercises to test the adequacy and efficiency of the CCA internal procedures.