Brussels, 29 February 2024 (MIA) - The European Commission, in cooperation with the World Bank, is creating a new financial support instrument designed to enhance civil protection in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism participating countries, including North Macedonia, as well as in Georgia and Kosovo.

As part of the instrument called the Technical Assistance Financing Facility for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness (TAFF), an initial funding of €6 million in 2024 is planned.

The European Commission launches a new financial support instrument targeting national civil protection authorities to begin with for a three years pilot phase to enhance disaster prevention and preparedness in the EU and beyond.
The Technical Assistance Financing Facility for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness (TAFF) supports projects, studies and trainings in disaster and climate resilience and promotes the sharing of knowledge among countries on disaster risk management. The World Bank will implement the activities with financing from the European Commission.

As a result of this financing tool, civil protection authorities will increase their technical capacity to prevent disasters and will be better equipped when a disaster strikes, according to the European Commission.

Disaster resilience is gaining importance as natural disasters are becoming more and more frequent and severe. Between 1980 and 2020, natural hazards affected nearly 50 million people in the EU and caused on average an economic loss of €12 billion per year.

The Technical Assistance Financing Facility for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness (TAFF) is fully funded by the European Union. TAFF is managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, and its activities are implemented by the World Bank in coordination with the European Commission.

TAFF is part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). It provides national civil protection and disaster risk management authorities with the technical assistance needed for preparing investments, capacity building and for strengthening their institutional and policy framework.

The UCPM aims to strengthen cooperation between the 27 EU countries and 10 Participating States (Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine) on civil protection to improve prevention, preparedness, and response to disasters.

Photo: MIA archive