EXISTING INSTRUMENTS OF COOPERATION

1. COOPERATION AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE BETWEEN ROMANIA, CANDIDATES COUNTRIES AND WESTERN BALKANS COUNTRIES

2. EXISTING INSTRUMENTS OF COOPERATION • Bilateral and trilateral agreements • Regional initiatives (DPPI, CMEPC) • World Bank • BSEC, Black Sea Commission • Euroregion DKMT

3. AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEYON COOPERATION IN THE AREA OF PREVENTION, LIMITATION AND MITIGATION OF DISASTERS’ CONSEQUENCES • IT WAS SIGNED LAST YEAR BY THE BOTH PRIME MINISTERS, PENDING TO BE RATIFIED BY BOTH GOVERNMENTS • SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT: “establishment of the legal framework necessary to cooperate in order to prevent, limit and mitigate the effects of disasters and to facilitate providing mutual assistance” • REFERENCES REGARDING COOPERATION AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE • RO ASSISTANCE TO TK IN 1999 – EARTHQUAKE – MATERIAL AND SAR TEAMS

4. AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OFROMANIA, SERBIA ANDHUNGARYON COOPERATION IN THE AREA OF PREVENTION, LIMITATION AND MITIGATION OF DISASTERS’ CONSEQUENCES STAGE: INTERNAL PHASE OF CONSULTATION AT THE MINISTRIES INVOLVED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA and SERBIAON COOPERATION IN THE AREA OF PREVENTION, LIMITATION AND MITIGATION OF DISASTERS’ CONSEQUENCES STAGE: WAITING TO START THE NEGOCIATION PROCESS AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA and MACEDONIA ON COOPERATION IN THE AREA OF PREVENTION, LIMITATION AND MITIGATION OF DISASTERS’ CONSEQUENCES STAGE: -INTERNAL PHASE OF CONSULTATION AT THE MINISTRIES INVOLVED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

5. REGIONAL INITIATIVES DISASTER PREPAREDNESSAND PREVENTION INITIATIVE - DPPI - • Joint activities that imply transboundary cooperation: • Training courses, seminars, workshops within DMTP – Disaster Management Training Program • Projects regarding the improvement of disaster response capacity in South – Eastern Europe area – Joint Emergency Response Units in case of floods in SEE (JERU)

6. SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE CIVIL-MILITARY EMERGENCY PLANNING COUNCIL (SEE CMEPCOUNCIL) • Activities: • -Table Top Exercises hosted, by rotation, by each signatory country based on different scenarios • -CMEP Handbook of the Council was developed by the Working Groups • -Workshops, seminars • During the Annual Meeting of the Council, December 2006, Bucharest, Romania, an World Bank project was initiated – South Eastern Europe Disaster Preparedness Initiative • Phase I – feasibility assessment of the vulnerabilities of each member states; • Phase II – implementation of the proposed investment priorities

7. BSEC andBLACK SEA COMMISSION • Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) • 13 member states (among them Romania and Turkey) • Working Group on Cooperation in Emergency Assistance • Working Group on Environmental Protection • BSEC Liaison Officers` network • Black Sea Commission • Advisory Group for Environment Safety Aspects of Shipping

8. BSEC andBLACK SEA COMMISSION • ACTIVITIES • Agreement between the governments of BSEC participating states on collaboration in case of intervention and disaster response and the Additional Protocol • Black Sea Regional Contingency Plan (arrangements of regional cooperation, common response, coordination of available resources) • Workshops, seminars, common exercises • Exchange of information OTHER WAYS OF COOPERATION • BLACK SEA INITIATIVE ON CIVIL – MILITARY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

9. Euroregion DKMT (Danube – Kris – Mures – Tisa) – a citizens`euroregion • An European region for transboundary cooperation in different fields, set in 1997 (aprox. 77,000 km2, 5,700,000 citizens) • 4 counties of Romania, 4 counties of Hungary and 1 autonomous region (Voivodina – Serbia) • Cooperation in the field of civil protection: • Working group on disasters prevention • Workshops, conferences, common exercises • Project “Security without border” – co-funded EU project • Transboundary and regional Center for Prevention and Intervention in case of Floods • Joint SAR teams made up of volunteers – are presently being organized

10. POSSIBLE WAYS OF COOPERATION BETWEEN CANDIDATES COUNTRIES, WESTERN BALKANS COUNTRIES AND CIVIL PROTECTION COMMUNITY MECHANISM • Actual situation: According to the art. 10 of Council Decision 2007/779/EC, Euratom: • Participation in the Mechanism shall be open to candidates countries • Third countries may cooperate in activities under the Mechanism based on agreements between these countries and the Community • Possible ways of cooperation: • MoU regarding the participation to the Mechanism (for candidates countries); • common training of experts, information exchange, notification of events, common templates of request of assistance, etc. (MoU or Administrative Arrangements); • Participation in EU exercises; • Participation in co-funded EU projects (for candidates countries);

11. Thank you for your attention Corina PANAITESCU GENERAL INSPECTORATE FOR EMERGENCY SITUATIONS EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, ASSISTANCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT ROMANIA Phone / fax 0040 21 232 95 86 email: panaitec@mira.gov.ro