Hannu Himanen 19 October International cooperation in the field of civil protection − what is in it for the Barents Region? Barents Rescue 2007 Seminar Saariselkä, Ivalo, Finland 19 October 2007 Mr. Hannu Himanen Under-Secretary of State

Hannu Himanen 19 October International cooperation in civil protection and crisis management  Barents Rescue 2007 Exercise as part of an international effort to improve crisis management and civil protection  comprehensive approach: combine civilian and military aspects  roles of the UN, international organisations, NATO, OSCE, EU  Multinational Experiment (MNE): cooperation between civilian and military authorities, NGO:s  Shared Information Framework and Technology (SHIFT)

Hannu Himanen 19 October Role of the EU in crisis situations  EU instrumentarium in crisis situations: −civil protection mechanism −humanitarian relief −specific instruments (e.g. rapid reaction mechanism) −civilian crisis management missions  roles of Member States, Council and Commission  Article 20 (amended) of the EEC Treaty

Hannu Himanen 19 October Finnish chairmanship of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council  overall objectives:  stability, security and sustainable development through dialogue and cooperation  promotion of sectoral cooperation (economy, environment, health and social affairs, youth, culture)  Finnish Chairmanship ends with 11th Foreign Ministerial Meeting (Rovaniemi 14  15 November)  BEAC Chairmanship taken over by Russia  Regional Council Chair from Republic of Karelia (Russia) to Province of Oulu (Finland)

Hannu Himanen 19 October  6 million people  1,75 million sqkm  rich resources  harsh climatic conditions  long distances The Barents Region: facts

Hannu Himanen 19 October Barents cooperation structures (estblished in 1993) Barents Euro-Arctic Council  Participants: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, EU Commission  Observers: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, UK, USA Barents Regional Council  representatives of the Regional Governors and their equivalents and representatives of indigenous peoples

Hannu Himanen 19 October Rescue cooperation in the Barents Region  need to enhance rescue cooperation:  harsh climatic conditions  geographic and demographic factors  risks related to nuclear and radiological sources  sensitive arctic ecology  climate change  legal base for rescue cooperation:  bilateral agreements between Barents partners (e.g. Finland  Sweden, Finland  Russia)  Memorandum of Understanding between regions of Lapland, Murmansk, Norbotten, Finnmark, Troms and Nordland

Hannu Himanen 19 October Rescue cooperation (contd.)  positive experience and good record of existing cooperation  forest fires  cross-border accidents  negotiations underway on an agreement on emergency prevention, preparedness and response (EPPR)  latest round in Moscow in September  a joint committee will be created  rescue cooperation:  previous exercises in Sweden 2001, Norway 2005  Barents Rescue 2007 Exercise, part of Finnish Chairmanship programme  future exercises include:  Varandei oil-spill exercise 2008  Barents Rescue 2009 Exercise

Hannu Himanen 19 October Preparedness arrangements in the Finnish Government  strategy for securing the vital functions of society (2005, 2006)  the government crisis management arrangement  operative responsibility always vested with the competent authority  responsibility for coordination lies with the competent ministry  when a crisis surpasses a ministry’s capacity, operative management is taken over by the Government led by the Prime Minister and assisted by  heads of preparedness meeting  Permanent Secretaries’ meeting  a Cabinet Committee

Hannu Himanen 19 October Role and responsibility of the Finnish Foreign Ministry  Ministry for Foreign Affairs is the compentent authority in consular crises abroad  Finnish diplomatic and consular missions abroad  consular services at the Foreign Ministry  duty officers 24/7  overall contingency  consular crises  communications  Consular Rapid Deployment teams