Disasters can never be excluded completely and can affect everyone. Therefore, suitable precautionary measures have to be ensured for averting risks and for the protection of the persons involved in order to cope with the consequences. In the face of the personnel and material rescources which are becoming increasingly necessary in whole regions among others because of more and more frequent extreme weather situations civil protection is far more dependent on cross-border neighbourly help than the rescue service. Disasters know no borders!
Actually, the national civil protection systems in Europe – with the exception that they are all based to a large extent on voluntary service – are totally different in terms of operational structures and strategies. SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL tries to throw light on this issue through the presentation of short profiles of national civil protection systems.
The states in the European Union have decided upon extensive measures through decisions of the Council of the European Union in order to guarantee mutual assistance between member states through increased cooperation in assignments in civil protection. With the international operation units of SAMARITAN-AID SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL will be part of the so-called EU mechanism, a new concept of the EU for better coping with crises. | 
