prijava
SARAJEVO, October 22 (FENA) - The conference "Capacity Building and Preparation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the EU Civil Protection Mechanism" and a practical exercise within the project "EU for Better Civil Protection" in BiH, was held this month.
After fulfilling obligations BiH has gained conditions for applying for full membership in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Nicolas Bizel, Head of the Operational Department of the Delegation of the European Union to BiH for Justice and Home Affairs and Public Administration Reform, expressed hope that BiH would soon be part of the Mechanism to respond together to future natural disasters.
“The EU will continue to support BiH in building an effective civil protection mechanism. There is a clear commitment in Brussels for BiH to join the Mechanism,” Bizel emphasized.
The European Union has invested around 2.5 million euros, 1.5 million euros for the preparation of project plans and analysis, and one million euros for the most sophisticated equipment (IT equipment, radio systems, as well as video and audio detection equipment ) used by rescue services from the EU.
The benefits of the project, as Bakir Dautbašić from the BiH Ministry of Security said, are that BiH has 200 certified rescuers who can equally participate in rescue operations, both in BiH and in the region and the EU, when the EU Mechanism is called in to intervene.
He expressed the expectation that BiH will become a full member of the Mechanism next year.
Croatian Civil Protection Director Damir Trut said that in major accidents and catastrophes, no country has enough capacity to react on its own.
“We have certified a large number of rescuers from BiH in various segments who have learned how to work as an individual, how to work as a team, or how to work as a whole force of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” concluded Trut.
(FENA) A. B.
