What is currently on the agenda of the Civil Emergency Planning Committee?

type: Frequently asked

Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the Ukraine conflict, cooperation among NATO member states within the Civil Emergency Planning Committee has intensified. These events have resulted in NATO changing its strategy. Following the annexation of Crimea, the September 2014 NATO summit in Wales adopted decisions taking into account hybrid threats, with a view to implementing the necessary civil protection measures. Examples of hybrid threats include disinformation and propaganda activities, cyber attacks and other measures below the threshold of an armed attack. 

Currently, the Civil Emergency Planning Committee is working with NATO member states to implement the jointly developed baseline requirements for civil protection. They aim to ensure: 

  • business continuity for government and administrative agencies;
  • resilient energy, food and water resources;
  • resilient communication and civilian transport systems;
  • effective management of uncontrolled movements of people and mass casualty incidents.

In Germany, the NATO baseline requirements are essentially implemented by the Civil Defence Concept (in german only) which was adopted by the Federal Cabinet in August 2016.