EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism Activated in Response to Floods in Macedonia

Macedonia on Monday activated the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism following last week’s flash floods that killed at least 22 people in the capital Skopje.

The EU will deploy a team of technical experts to assess the damage from the disaster and to make recommendations to the national and local civil protection authorities, the European Commssion said in a statement.

"Right now we are in contact with the national authorities in Skopje and the other participating states in the Mechanism to coordinate a swift response to the request. I encourage offers of assistance to come in as quickly as possible. We're also prepared to provide humanitarian assistance in case needed," EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, said in the statement.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates the cooperation in disaster response among 34 European state (EU-28 plus non-EU Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Iceland, and Norway).