22-23 Nov. 2004

Top civil emergency planning officials meet at NATO Background Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) On 22-23 November 2004 the heads of civil protection and civil emergency planning organisations from NATO and partner countries met for their semi-annual high-level discussions within NATO’s Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee. Chaired by the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Operations, Ambassador Adam Kobieracki, the discussions focused on lessons learned from NATO’s support to Greece during the Olympic Games and on further measures to be taken at national and NATO-level to improve civil preparedness for possible terrorist attacks. Improving contingency plans Allies and partners agreed to review and update the Civil Emergency Planning Action Plan for the Improvement of Civil Preparedness for Possible Terrorist Attacks with Chemical, Biological and Radiological Weapons. This Action Plan had first been launched in November 2001 in response to the terrorist attacks on the United States. It addresses key issues regarding the protection of civilian populations against terrorist attacks. NATO civil emergency planning officials also agreed to propose a new document for civil emergency planning for the years 2005-2006 to Foreign Ministers when they meet in December in Brussels. The Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee (SCEPC) is the senior advisory body to the North Atlantic Council on matters concerning protection of the civilian population and the use of civil resources in support of Alliance objectives. The SCEPC oversees the work of eight specialised planning boards representing all areas of relevant civilian planning activity (e.g. transport, civil protection, critical infrastructure protection, medical, communications, supply) and the activities of the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) at NATO Headquarters. The SCEPC meets several times a month in permanent session (with representatives from Allied and Partner delegations at NATO HQ) and twice a year in plenary session (Heads of Civil Emergency Planning organisations from capitals).