Canada, EU ink deal to co-operate on disaster response, emergency management

The European Commission and Canada have agreed to enhancing ties in civil protection and disaster risk management.

During the EU-Canada Summit, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau endorsed an Administrative Arrangement allowing closer cooperation on disaster response and emergency management.

The EU and Canada will also share best practices to enhance prevention, preparedness, and coordination on natural and human-induced disasters including in third countries.

In addition, the European Commission will finance the purchase 12 new Canadian built planes (Canadair) to increase the aerial firefighting capacity of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism strategic reserve (‘rescEU’). EU Member States have also ordered a further 12 planes.

President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The climate emergency is all too real. We must partner to better address natural disasters. This is why today we agreed to work more closely with Canada on risk management and response. And we are looking forward to strengthening our European fleet by adding Canadian firefighting planes.”

Find the full European Commission news release here.