On 25 October, Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič, is in Germany, to visit a full-scale civil protection exercise funded by the European Commission. The Magnitude exercise simulates a scenario of a devastating earthquake. Participants to the exercise include European response teams from Austria, Greece, France, Switzerland, as well as 12 German response teams, eight German authorities, and an EU civil protection team of six experts. Exercises, such as the Magnitude, are fundamental to better prepare response capacities from various European countries to improve their ability to work together in a real emergency, inside or outside Europe.
The EU contributes nearly €1 million to the exercise, which covers 85% of its costs. The aim of the exercise is to improve capabilities of agencies, emergency services and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) in coordination, preparedness and response to large-scale disasters. The exercise hosts an observers’ programme for representatives from about 15 countries. The project includes one tabletop exercise that took place in Stuttgart on 15-16 October 2024, and the full-scale exercise in Mosbach, Mannheim and Schwarzach on 24-26 October 2024. This is the biggest and most international exercise in Germany under this programme since 2007, and it is the first time that Switzerland participates with response teams in a UCPM exercise. More information about other exercises across the EU and UCPM participating states is available.
Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management said: “I welcome the organisation of civil protection exercise by Baden Württemberg. It is the biggest and most international EU Civil Protection Mechanism full-scale exercise ever organised in Germany. With professionals from across Europe working together to improve our collective disaster preparedness. These efforts are more important than ever. As the climate crisis worsens, extreme weather events are now an almost annual occurrence across Europe and beyond. In response, we must increase our disaster preparedness on a local, national and a European level to keep pace with this ever-growing rate of disaster.”