GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION

1. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION RESPONSE TO DISASTERS, OR MAJOR ACCIDENTS AND THE ROLE OF THE STATE Dr. MARIA VARINOU HEAD OF DIRECTORATE OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION GENERAL SECRETARIATE FOR CIVIL PROTECTION

2. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION • Mission of Civil Protection → safeguarding human life, health and property against natural, technological or any other sort of disasters that generate emergency situations, during peacetime. • Serving this mission civil protection puts under its auspices: • all material and cultural goods as well as all national resources and infrastructure, in order to minimize the effect of disasters

3. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Civil protection planning and actions • Civil protection planning and actions cover all phases of disaster risk management from risk assessment and prevention to preparedness, early response for disaster control and then to emergency action and up to reparation measures. • In this framework, after one has applied all preventive measures possible, preparedness and disastermanagement actions focus on handling the remnant risk effects. • Preparedness and disastermanagement actions are designed so as to incorporate risk reduction processes, while minimizing the effects and the consequences of catastrophic phenomena or events. •  Moreover, civil protection actions aiming at post disaster arrangements are planned and put into force in such a way so as to further facilitate future risk reduction. These actions therefore, become crucial in preparedness planning towards risk reduction and emergency situation management.

4. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Civil protection planning and actions A question emergesabout the ideal civil protection planning for disaster and emergency response. The disaster and emergency response planning is determined each time according to the evaluation of action taken in risk management from prevention and risk reduction to recovery measures.

5. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Civil protection planning and actions • This means that → at executive level a civil protection strategic planning for disaster risk reduction is required in order to provide the framework within which: • specific planning sectors can be developed taking into consideration the interactions between the different phases of disaster risk cycle management. • Therefore, the overall reaction of the civil protection mechanism to natural and manmade hazards and specifically to disaster control: • is the outcome of risk reduction strategic planning at national level.

6. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Civil Protection Strategic Planning • Civil Protection Strategic Planning requires political commitment. • It is based on risk analysis and assessment and takes into consideration: • the overall national policies framework including national security, environmental protection, public health, educational policies • national resources availability, • the institutional setting and • civil protection policies at international level.

7. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION civil protection operational planning • Civil protection operational planning towards strategic priorities, is formed taking into account the existing state organizational structure and public administration functioning. • The operation of public agencies and services is based on the establishment and arrangement of an institutional structure that allows: • planning and enforcement of civil protection action, • the supervision of planning procedures, • the respective measures application and • the activation of the set of operations needed for its implementation.

8. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION institutional function of Civil Protectionin Greece Civil Protection established by law 2344 in 1995 and enhanced in 2002 (by Law 3013 on upgrading Civil Protection). The General Secretariat for Civil Protection is the executive national civil protection authority, today incorporated within the Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection structure. At local and regionallevel, civil protection cells are organized within the country’s Decentralized Administrations, the District counties and the Municipalities, each with their respective territorial jurisdiction.

9. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION institutional function of Civil Protectionin Greece • Under the new legal framework (Law 4249/2014) • on the reorganization of the Hellenic Police, the Fire Service and GSCP, that was put into force on March 2014, • a new functional and organizational structure for Civil Protection has been outlined covering executive, operational and tactical level.

10. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Priorities introduced by the new legal framework • The new legal framework for civil protection maintains two priorities: • The disaster risk reduction, through the introduction of new strategic and operational civil protection planning procedures. • The management of disaster and emergency situations, through the establishment of a new organizational and functional model for civil protection authorities at both central and regional level, that draws attention to flexibility and efficiency.

11. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Priorities of the new legal framework • civil protection strategic and operational planning is directly correlated to the national growth plan as well as to its financing. • priority is given to the implementation of applied research, of new information and communication technologies and of innovation in all civil protection activity fields, for disaster prevention, preparedness and response as well as for the post-disaster management.

12. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Strategic civil protection policy objectives and the respective priorities within this framework, strategic civil protection policy objectives and the respective priorities are correlated to a national growth strategy.

13. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Strategic civil protection policy objectives and the respective priorities • a. enhancement of civil protection planning effectiveness, at all stages of disaster risk management. At this level priority is given: • to the enhancement and qualification of civil protection planning and decision making, through monitoring, lessons learned, best practices, evaluation and assessment practices. • to the advancement of planning through the incorporation of innovative scientific tools and procedures (innovation, ICT). • to the reorientation of scientific research towards production in specialized civil protection activity fields.

14. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Strategic civil protection policy objectives and the respective priorities • b. enhancement of security level enjoyed by citizens with priority to: • improving disaster response and preparednessmeasures and • to developing early warning and alertness systems for the population, that would include the dissemination of sound, comprehensive, precise, practical and directly usable information.

15. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Strategic civil protection policy objectives and the respective priorities c. The civil protection executives as well as the specialized volunteers’ training by the establishment of procedures for continuous education, training, coaching and exercise for people serving at all levels of command. d. Continuous training and educational support on civil protection to all local and regional decision makers (mayors, civil protection executives etc). e. Emphasis is being given to scheduling training civil protection exercises.

16. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Strategic civil protection policy objectives and the respective priorities • In this new strategic arrangement • the citizen is prepared to act as a single civil protection “Unit”, • within the residential and local environment. • priority is given to: • enhancing civilian preparedness, training and awareness regarding disaster risks • information dissemination on disaster risk management, • enhancement of the public responsiveness regarding the implementation of civil protection planning

17. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION operational and functional adjustments introduced by the new legal framework • A.The Civil Protection Coordinating Authority is established at the General Secretariat for Civil Protection with function: • tο produce know-how on civil protection issues, • to support strategic planning towards disaster risk reduction, incorporating this to the national growth action plan and securing funds for its implementation, • To enhance cooperation between central and decentralized services of the district, municipal and local civil protection authorities, in order to weave a thorough and cohesive national civil protection network.

18. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION operational and functional adjustments introduced by the new legal framework B. Incorporation of the Fire Service with Civil Protection as its operational mechanism at national level. In this frame: • A Joint Coordination Operational Center is being established, as a specialized Fire Corps Unit that integrates as sub-units the pre existing: • Fire Service Operational Center, • Civil Protection Operational Center and • Forest Fire Fighting Coordination Center. • At the Fire Service district command level, all regional operational centers are enhanced and engaged in a new role that is equally preventive and responsive with emphasis given to the coordination of all public services involved to the implementation of civil protection planning.

19. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION operational and functional adjustments introduced by the new legal framework C. A National Early Warning System is established embracing infrastructure and procedures for the assembling and assessment of information regarding prediction or their actual occurrence of disastrous phenomena. D. A new training and preparation system for civil protection officials and volunteers is being established through the creation of a National Civil Protection School within the Fire Service Academy. E. The entire national volunteerism system is being refurbished dealing, for the first time comprehensively with issues regarding the volunteers enrollment, training, operationalinvolvement, valuation, financialsupport, insurancecoverage and liability of Volunteer Groups and specialized volunteers.

20. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION operational and functional adjustments introduced by the new legal framework • F. Special attention is being paid to development of new information and communication technologies as well as of innovative applied research products, and their applications for civil protection activities aiming at: • the improvement of services provided to the population and • the upgrade of functioning and cooperation between public services in the civil protection field.

21. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Current actions of the General Secretariat for Civil Protection • application of communication and public information media, including: • a web portal, • social media tools and applications. • a nationwide, massive early warning system for the population, that will function under the auspices of the new Call Center for the Common European Emergency Number “112”. • the Emergency number “112” service operates since 1999 and provides citizen access to all emergency services, under all circumstances, making available the caller’s position location tracking and offering access through cellphone even without a sim card or a cable phone free of charge.

22. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Current actions of the General Secretariat for Civil Protection In the field of disaster management planning and emergency response, the General Secretariat for Civil Protection retains a central coordinative role overseeing the implementation of the General Civil Protection Plan under the code name “Xenokratis”, as augmented with the “Massive Human Losses Managing Plan”, that was recently put in force in the Samos shipwreck incident.

23. GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR CIVIL PROTECTION MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ORDER AND CITIZEN PROTECTION Conclusions • The implementation of institutional arrangements introduced by the new legal framework of Law 4249/2014 as well as the accomplishment of strategic priorities presented hereby, are expected to help materialize a new cohesive and flexible civil protection system that will furthermore have the capacity for immediate reaction at any emergency, whether it derives from natural or technological causes. • Our aspiration is that this new system will be able to make use of progress taking place in the scientific and technological innovation field in order to improve risk and disaster response processes. • Our main priority remains to further develop our correspondence to the all challenging security demands for the protection of civilian population, while at the same time supporting national growth and progress.