Poolse minister en eurocommissaris Georgieva aanwezig bij rampenoefening (en)

In Nowy Dab, in the Podkarpackie voivodship, the EU Carpathex 2011 rescue services exercise has ended. The Minister of Interior and Administration, Jerzy Miller and the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva i took part in a special display on a railway ramp.

During the EU CARPATHEX 2011 exercise, Minister Miller and Commissioner Georgieva exchanged views on the future of European civil protection, in particular the continued functioning of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism. This mechanism can be activated in emergency situations, such as: floods, earthquakes, technical failures, etc. Activation of the mechanism follows after an appeal for help from a state in difficulty. If the threat relates to any of the 31 countries participating in the Mechanism (the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Croatia), the given state may ask for assistance through the Common Emergency Communication and Information System (CECIS). If the threat is outside the territory of the participating countries, the European Commission activates the mechanism after receiving an appeal for help from the state in difficulty.

Specialised rescue groups from Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine took part in the EU CARPATHEX 2011 exercises as well as medical teams of the Polish Red Cross and helicopters belonging to the Armed Forces, Police and Border Guard.

EU Carpathex 2011 is a large-scale exercise organised by the State Fire Service at national level and in Rzeszów, in cooperation with the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ukraine. The exercise is co-financed by the European Union. From the State Fire Service, chemical rescue, high rescue, water rescue and diving as well as search and rescue groups took part in the exercises.

During the exercise, tests were carried out on the Host Nation Support (HNS) system, rescue cooperation with neighbouring countries as part of international bilateral agreements and modern geospatial technologies used during rescue operations. During the exercise, cutting-edge technologies were also tested, including Proteus - Integrated Mobile System for Counterterrorism and Rescue Operations.