Firefighters battling record-breaking forest fires, thousands of evacuated patients from Ukraine, and assistance during massive floods in Spain — these are just some of the crises to which the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) responded last year. The ERCC is the European Union’s crisis hub and in 2025 alone it was activated 64 times under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Poland benefited from the system’s assistance, including during the 2024 floods, and also actively supports rescue operations in other countries.
“EU member states are increasingly exposed to crises. Their scale is highly diverse — from climate change-related disasters and extreme weather events such as wildfires and floods, to hybrid threats, cyberattacks, attacks on critical infrastructure, disinformation campaigns, terrorism, or even war. The scope of challenges is enormous. Member states have recognized, and the European Commission supports this approach, that acting together is more effective than acting alone,” Dr. Katarzyna Smyk, Director of the European Commission Representation in Poland, told Newseria news agency. “The added value lies in coordinating member states’ actions, providing financial and logistical support when needed, and ensuring efficient information exchange.”
The institution responsible for these efforts is the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC). It manages the EU’s response to crises — natural disasters, armed conflicts, and other extraordinary events. It prevents duplication of aid efforts and ensures that assistance is delivered quickly and tailored to the needs of those affected.
“The crisis management centre operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It receives, monitors, and disseminates information, because information flow is crucial in crisis management,” Dr. Smyk explains.
“In addition, it oversees, organizes, and conducts crisis response operations under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism,” adds Maciej Popowski, Director-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations at the European Commission, under whose authority the ERCC operates.
The centre manages a reserve of assistance pre-committed by member states and participating countries. As of September 2025, the European Civil Protection Pool included 153 specialized units, rescue teams, and equipment modules. This forms the backbone of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which involves not only the 27 EU member states but also 10 non-EU countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Iceland, North Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine.
“Countries turn to the centre in cases of very sudden emergencies. We are talking about different types of crises, such as weather-related disasters — fires, heavy rainfall, floods, earthquakes. In these situations, human lives are at stake, often within minutes or hours, so assistance must arrive immediately,” Dr. Smyk explains.
The ERCC deploys qualified coordination and assessment teams to disaster areas. These teams include humanitarian and civil protection experts who assess needs on the ground. The centre also serves as a 24/7 contact point when the EU solidarity clause is invoked. It provides crisis communication and monitoring tools via the Common Emergency Communication and Information System (CECIS), an online notification and alert platform.
“The European system has many advantages, particularly its ability to optimize the use of resources. In the case of large-scale disasters such as massive forest fires or floods, even the largest countries may not cope alone. They need far more personnel, equipment, and logistical support. At that point, countries that are not directly affected can share their resources,” Popowski emphasizes.
“We have developed numerous support instruments over the years. One example is the Solidarity Fund, which member states can access when they suffer major damage. Poland used it following the floods that occurred in 2024,” Dr. Smyk recalls.
In December 2025, the European Commission approved a €76 million payment to Poland from the EU Solidarity Fund to support recovery efforts after devastating floods that struck Central and Eastern Europe in autumn 2024, including southwestern Poland. At that time, Poland requested water purification equipment. Under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Sweden responded by delivering hundreds of bottles of chloramine.
“Poland is an active participant in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. It can receive assistance but also provide it to others. In summer 2023, I had the opportunity to visit a Polish firefighting contingent stationed near Athens in Greece,” says Popowski.
In July 2023, Poland responded to a request for firefighting assistance coordinated through the ERCC in relation to forest fires. The operation involved 149 Polish firefighters and 49 vehicles.
“In 2025, we experienced the most severe wildfire season in 20 years, but the EU response was highly efficient. Nearly 700 firefighters from over a dozen countries participated. We deployed equipment, including firefighting aircraft. Teams were already on site when fires in Spain and Portugal were just beginning. The crisis management centre prepares and plans all of this and then directs the assistance,” explains the Commission’s Director-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection.
Data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) show that more than one million hectares of forest were burned. The most intense fire activity was recorded in Portugal and Spain, but also in southern France, southern Italy, Greece, Türkiye, Ukraine, and parts of the United Kingdom.
An important tool supporting such operations is the Copernicus Earth observation system.
“The Emergency Response Coordination Centre also conducts media monitoring and has its own analytical capacity. These are professionals who prepare reports on events around the world, such as in Gaza, Ukraine, or Haiti. The centre produces updated maps and satellite images with detailed descriptions and makes them available to countries in need,” Popowski notes.
In response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the ERCC is coordinating the largest crisis operation in EU history since the Civil Protection Mechanism was established in 2001. Under this framework, all participating countries have delivered millions of essential items to Ukraine and neighboring regions and continue to provide medical assistance.
In September 2022, an EU Medevac transit hub was opened in Rzeszów, Poland, providing initial care before patients are transferred to hospitals in other European countries. So far, more than 4,700 patients have been transferred to 22 countries.
“The Medical Evacuation Centre is operated by the Polish Center for International Aid but fully financed by the Directorate-General that I lead,” explains Popowski. “Ukrainian authorities provide us with data on patients requiring specialized treatment outside Ukraine. These include both civilians and soldiers. Using our IT network, we identify available hospital beds in member states, and patients are transported to Rzeszów by train or road. From there, they are transferred by ambulance or specialized medical evacuation aircraft to Poland, Germany, France, Norway, and many other countries.”
