News 2021
New publication of the European Centre for Forest Fires
“Nowadays, the Covid-19 pandemic crisis has intensified the challenges and difficulties for effective disaster risk management. It appears that complex emergencies will be the case for the future and therefore a multi-hazard risk approach might be necessary for copying with the relevant impacts”....
EUR-OPA Major Hazards Ministerial Meeting in Matosinhos: Building More Inclusive Societies through Better Disaster Risk Management
Portugal hosted, in a virtual format, the 14th Ministerial Meeting of the Council of Europe’s European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA) on 24 November 2021 from Matosinhos. The meeting gathered ministers from the 24 Member States of the Agreement as well as representatives of...
Launch of the new publication: Disabled persons in viral pandemics: the example of Covid-19
The Council of Europe’s EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement released a new publication entitled Disabled persons in viral pandemics: the example of Covid-19 which has been edited thanks to the working paper drafted by Professor David Alexander. The document is aiming at identifying ways to overcome...
Launch of the new publication: Inclusion of migrants and refugees in preparedness and response to biological disasters: case study of the COVID-19 pandemic
The Council of Europe’s EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement and the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) published a joint paper on the necessity of including migrants and refugees in biological disasters and pandemics. The paper, entitled Inclusion of migrants and refugees in...
International art competition for children paintings "I saw the disaster with my eyes"
The EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement Secretariat is pleased to invite you to participate to the international art competition for children «I saw the disaster with my eyes » organised by the Directorate General for Fire Safety and Civil Protection within the Ministry of Interior (DGFSCP – MoI)...
Joint meeting of the Committee of Permanent Correspondents and the Directors of Specialised Centres
On 16th of September 2021, the EUR-OPA Committee of Permanent Correspondents and the Directors of Specialised Centres held their joint meeting by videoconference. For the last time before the 14th Ministerial Session of the Agreement, the participants reviewed and discussed the agenda and the...
BeSafeNet 2021 Olympiad Award Ceremony
The BeSafeNet 2021 Olympiad Award Ceremony was held via videoconference on Wednesday 26 May. The top three teams were Terra Blue, "Gheorghe Lazar" National College, Bucharest, Romania (1st), High School Mate Blažine, Labin, Croatia (2nd) and Detectives of Hazards, Liceul Regina Maria, Dorohoi,...
75th meeting of the Committee of Permanent Correspondents
The Committee of Permanent Correspondents of the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement held its 75th meeting on the 16 June 2021 by videoconference. The main aim of the meeting was to discuss and review the documents which will be presented for adoption at the 14th Ministerial Session of the Agreement...
BeSafeNet Editorial Board Meeting
The BeSafeNet Editorial Board met via videoconference on 11 May to review the 2021Olympiad. The Board also discussed ways to improve the Olympiad experience and update the existing content on the BeSafeNet website. The new topics for the 2022 Olympiad will be confirmed in September. One of the...
EUR-OPA Bureau meeting
The Bureau of the Committee of Permanent Correspondents met virtually on the 12 April for its first meeting of year to prepare the EUR-OPA Ministerial Conference which will take place in November 2021. The Bureau members also discussed the adoption of the Medium-Term Plan 2021-2025 and the two...
BeSafeNet Olympiad Results are in!
Team Terra Blue from Gheorghe Lazar National College, Romania have emerged as winners of the 2021 BeSafeNet Olympiad. Team Labin from High School Mate Blazine, Croatia and team Detectives of Hazards from Romania came second and third. 138 teams from 12 countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia,...
Forum Talk “It’s not just about the weather: the impact of climate change on natural disasters”
On 18 February 2021, the Secretariat of the World Forum for Democracy, in collaboration with the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement, organised a Forum Talk on the topic “It’s not just about the weather: the impact of climate change on natural disasters” which gathered representatives of Specialised...
BeSafeNet 2021 Olympiad
On 19 February 2021 at 09.00 GMT, secondary schools in the member states of the European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA) were invited to register and take part in the third Olympiad which is an international online competition on “Better knowledge against disasters”. The...
