rescEU project for a CBRN reserve
The rescEU CBRN project will establish and maintain a stockpile under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. It will contain chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protective equipment, measurement equipment, support equipment as well as medicines and antidotes.
Finland is coordinating the project under the direction of the Ministry of the Interior and in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the National Emergency Supply Agency and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority.
The supplies stored in CBRN stockpiles are intended for use by both first responders and the civilian population in various CBRN incidents and accidents, such as accidents at a chemical or nuclear power plant, terrorist attacks or cross-border outbreaks of infectious diseases.
It must be possible to send the stored material to a disaster or crisis area within 12 hours the offer of assistance being accepted. The first quantities of supplies are scheduled to be available in 2024.
The total cost of the project is EUR 242 million, and it is scheduled to run from 1 January 2023 to 30 September 2026. The European Commission is funding the project in full. The project is very significant in scale and the first of its kind in Europe.
