For 25 years, European countries have been joining forces to save lives when disasters strike under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. This is one of the best examples of European solidarity in action. Created in 2001, the Mechanism brings together the 27 EU Member States and 10 participating states: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. It allows any country in the world facing a crisis to call on assistance from across Europe.

Since its creation, it has been activated more than 900 times by 160 countries and 8 international organisations, coordinating assistance in response to wildfires, floods, earthquakes, health emergencies and other disasters across Europe and around the world.

From firefighters battling wildfires and rescue teams responding to floods, to medical supplies delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens repatriated from crisis areas, generators sent to Ukraine, and search dogs looking for survivors after earthquakes, the Mechanism has turned European solidarity into concrete actions and assistance for people facing different crisis.