Romanian airlift mission to Italy

This materiel is part of the medical countermeasures reserve for the COVID-19 pandemics, established in Romania and procured by our country based on 10 million € grant signed by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations with the European Committee through the Direction General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG-ECHO).

On its return, the aircraft will bring back into the country the team of physicians and nurses who participated in Italy over 07 – 24 April, in the missions designated to the rescue of the people affected by the Sars-COV-2.

The Romanian medical team was accompanied in this mission by a representative of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, as a liaison officer, who had the mission to facilitate the integration of the Romanian team into the Italian medical system, with the aid of the local officials of the Peninsula.

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About rescEU

Decision No 1313/2013/EU and of the EU Council on 17 December 2013 sets out the legal framework of rescue which stipulates that rescEU is a reserve of capacities at Union level aiming to provide assistance in overwhelming situations where overall existing capacities at national level and those committed by Member States to the European Civil Protection Pool are not able to ensure an effective response to natural and man-made disasters.

The global spread of the new 2019-nCoV determined the initiation of additional measures by the member states in order to avoid the escalation of the emergency situation across the entire Union. Thus, according to the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/414 of 19 March, the stockpiling of medical countermeasures, intensive care medical equipment, and personal protective equipment aimed at combating serious cross-border threats to health should be included in the capacities of rescEU.

Due to the active presence of Romania within the Civil Protection Mechanism, DG-ECHO sent an invitation to the Department for Emergency Situations in order to establish in Romania a rescEU of medical countermeasures for the COVID-19 epidemics.

Thus, the Commission suggested the allocation of a 10 million € grant for the establishment of an initial rescue of medical countermeasures which will consists, in a first stage, of individual protection masks and intensive care medical ventilators. These are to be procured by the Romanian authorities in emergency regime, based on the offers available on the international market and stored though the care of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (GIES) in its own depots. The allocated grant will cover the costs for the acquisition of the medical equipment, maintenance, repair works, insurance, personnel payment, including the training of the personnel as well as storage transportation and delivery of the products to the beneficiaries.

These stocks built with the support of the DGECHO and managed by the GIES will be put at the disposal of the member and partner states (including Romania) of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism , following a request, in case o serious threat to health. Based on the identified needs, the Emergency Response Coordination Center of the European Commission is to decide (in the context of its simultaneous activation by multiple states) the place where the rescEU medical equipment for COVID-19 pandemics will be used; in this context, the GIES will proceed at the initiation of the measures necessary to take in order to make the transportation to the affected stat.

This invitation made by the European Commission to Romania is a recognition of the viability of the measures our authorities have taken so far in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 pandemics but also of our status of security provider and supplier of emergency international assistance at European and global levels.

Moreover, the immediate answer given to this request of the Commission creates the premises of the establishment of other European capabilities in Romania which will be funded by the EU Civil protection Mechanism budget (forest fire fighting with multi-role helicopters and air MEDEVAL for a big number of patients in critical condition).

The Press Office