Invitation

[National civil protection authority of country X]

The Director General (or any other authorised person)

Place and date

Mr Maciej Popowski Director General DG ECHO 1049 Brussels Belgium

Dear Director General,

Complementing our application for an adaptation grant, I am pleased to inform you that NAME OF COUNTRY commits NAME of Capacity/ies to the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP), on the proviso this response capacity is awarded the adaptation grant.

In line with Article 2 of the Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1310, the duration of the commitment is [please select: 3 years for capacities receiving up to EUR 300 000 of financial support; 5 years for capacities receiving from EUR 300 001 up to EUR 1 000 000 of financial support;7 years for capacities receiving from EUR 1 000 001 up to EUR 2 000 000 of financial support], starting from the effective availability of the capacity to the ECPP, i.e. after completing the certification procedure / as shown in CECIS.

Signature

ANNEX III: ESTIMATED AVERAGE COST OF DEVELOPING A CAPACITY - OVERVIEW OF THE RANGE OF CAPACITIES DEVELOPMENT COSTS (1)(2)

Response capacity Equipment costs Staff costs Training costs Lowest Highest

Total 50% of

average

High Capacity Pumping 680,000 - 2,449,000 600 - 6,300 45,000 - 75,000 725.000,00 2.530.000,00 1.059.583,88

Water Purification 222,000 - 512,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 238.000,00 543.000,00 254.235,03

Medium Urban Search and Rescue 883,000 -1,564,000 8,800 - 94,000 387,000 - 645,000 1.279.000,00 2.304.000,00 1.166.356,08

Heavy Urban Search and Rescu 922,000 -2,792,000 15,000 - 157,000 645,000 - 1,076,000 1.582.000,00 4.025.000,00 1.825.218,68

Aerial forest firefighting using helicopters 2,262,000 -12,669,000 600 - 6,300 38,000 - 63,000 2.300.000,00 12.738.000,00 4.895.244,95

Aerial forest firefighting using planes 7,232,000 -15,266,000 600 - 6,300 42,000 - 70,000 7.275.000,00 15.344.000,00 7.363.049,98

Advanced medical post (EMT1) 2,568,000 - 2,927,000 8,800 - 94,000 189,000 - 315,000 2.766.000,00 3.335.000,00 1.986.028,03

Advanced medical post with Surgery (EMT2) 5,069,000 -5,120,000 8,800 - 94,000 148,000 - 246,000 5.225.000,00 5.460.000,00 3.478.234,63

Field Hospital (EMT3) 5,121,000 -6,756,000 8,800 - 94,000 321,000 - 535,000 5.451.000,00 7.386.000,00 4.178.764,43

Medical aerial evacuation of disaster victims 3,865,000 -18,365,000 8,800 - 94,000 52,000 - 86,000 3.925.000,00 18.546.000,00 7.314.872,28

Emergency Temporary Camp 365,000 - 394,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 380.000,00 425.000,00 262.047,63

CBRN detection and sampling 1,236,000 - 1,291,000 600 - 6,300 100,000 - 167,000 1.337.000,00 1.464.000,00 911.795,53

Urban Search and Rescue under CBRN

conditions 1,634,000 -2,673,000 8,300 - 88,000 736,000 - 1,226,000 2.378.000,00 3.987.000,00 2.071.966,63

Ground Forest Fire-Fighting 2,490,000 -2,519,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 2.505.000,00 2.550.000,00 1.645.528,88

Ground Forest Fire-Fighting using Vehicles 2,750,000 -10,047,000 1,800 - 19,000 15,000 - 25,000 2.766.000,00 10.090.000,00 4.184.949,40

Flood Containment 2,444,000 -3,503,000 600 - 6,300 81,000 - 134,000 2.525.000,00 3.644.000,00 2.008.163,73

Flood rescue using boats 1,821,000 -1,879,000 600 - 6,300 126,000 - 210,000 1.948.000,00 2.095.000,00 1.316.097,58

TAST 315,000 - 1,067,000 600 - 6,300 33,000 - 56,000 348.000,00 1.129.000,00 480.800,43

Teams for maritime incident response 366,000 - 433,000 600 - 6,300 138,000 - 230,000 505.000,00 670.000,00 382.491,88

Structural engineering teams, to carry out

damage and safety assessments, appraisal of

buildings to be demolished/repaired,

assessment of infrastructure, short-term

shoring 54,000 - 108,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 69.000,00 139.000,00 67.709,20

Evacuation support: including teams for

information management and logistics 83,000 - 108,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 99.000,00 139.000,00 77.474,95

Fire-fighting: advisory/assessment teams 14,200 - 63,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 30.000,00 94.000,00 40.365,10

CBRN decontamination teams 633,000 - 739,000 600 - 6,300 119,000 - 198,000 752.000,00 943.000,00 551.764,88

Mobile laboratories for environmental

agencies 304,000 - 322,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 319.000,00 353.000,00 218.752,80

Communication teams or platforms to quickly

re-establish communications in remote areas 62,000 - 181,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 78.000,00 212.000,00 94.402,25

Medical evacuation jets air ambulance and

medical evacuation helicopter separately for

inside Europe or worldwide 5,658,000 - 11,319,000 600 - 6,300 59,000 - 98,000 5.717.000,00 11.423.000,00 5.579.498,50

Additional shelter capacity: units for 250

persons (50 tents); incl. self-sufficiency unit

for the handling staff 55,000 - 512,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 71.000,00 543.000,00 199.872,35

Additional capacity shelter-kit: units for 2500

persons (500 tarpaulins); with toolkit possibly

to be procured locally 553,000 -5,117,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 568.000,00 5.149.000,00 1.861.026,43

Water pumps with minimum capacity to

pump, 800 l/min 800 - 1,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 16.000,00 32.000,00 15.625,20

(1): Source: Adapted from the draft report on the costs of developing Participating States' response capacities, 29 June 2015, ICF Consulting Services

(2): prices updated considering the inflation (Eurostat Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) - annual data)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) ECHO.A - Emergency Management and rescEU A.2 - Capacities and Operational Support

Template for application to register a module, technical

assistance and support team, or other response capacity

in the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP)1

N.B. Text in blue represents explanation on the contents expected to be filled in, and should be deleted

when filling in the application.

1. Country (-ries) offering the module, technical assistance and support team (TAST), other

response capacity and the full name of the authority (-ies) endorsing this offer:

For modules, TAST or other response capacities put forward by more than one country on a

rotation basis: please add confirmation of the fact that all countries involved support this

application.

2. Type of module, TAST or other response capacity:

For module or TAST, please refer to the titles used in Annex II of the Implementing Rules

Decision; for other response capacities, please refer to the titles used in Annex III of the

Implementing Rules Decision – where available

3. Self-assessment establishing that the asset fulfils the quality requirements established for

this type of asset: for modules or TAST please fill in the table below (drawn up on the basis

of the quality requirements set out in Annex II of the Implementing Rules Decision); for

other response capacities please fill in the table with the relevant information for each field

(i.e. tasks, capacities, main components, self-sufficiency, deployment).

For offers put forward by more than one country (i.e. modules being available on a rotation

basis), please fill in one table for each of the modules included in the arrangement.

Tasks Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not

fulfil the provisions of Annex II)

Comments/Complementary

info (if any)

Capacities Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not

fulfil the provisions of Annex II)

Comments/Complementary

info (if any)

Main components Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not

fulfil the provisions of Annex II)

Comments/Complementary

info (if any)

Self-sufficiency Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not

fulfil the provisions of Annex II)

Comments/Complementary

info (if any)

Deployment Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not Comments/Complementary

1 This application shall be submitted as attachment to a letter of commitment of the asset to the ECPP,

addressed in writing DG ECHO, Rue de la Loi 86, 1049, Brussels. The application does not need to be

signed, in view of the letter being signed at the appropriate level in the Participating States'

administration.

2

fulfil the provisions of Annex II) info (if any)

4. Factsheet of the module, including technical assistance and support team, other response

capacity: Please attach or copy below the CECIS factsheet filled-in, for each of the modules

offered, in case of modules offered by more than one country (see CECIS for the updated

templates for factsheets).

5. Confirmation of necessary arrangements put in place to ensure the relevant authority and

national contact points are continuously capable to handle without delay requests for

deployment with regard to their assets registered in the ECPP. Please confirm that these

arrangements have been put into place and, to the extent possible, provide explanation on

these arrangements.

For modules offered by more than one country, it is recommended to appoint a single point

of contact for the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) and put in place

arrangements allowing this single point of contact to convey the request to the module on

stand-by.

6. Confirmation that all necessary measures have been taken, including the necessary financing

and logistical arrangements, to ensure that the asset registered in the ECPP can be deployed

immediately following an invitation to deploy by the Commission.

Please confirm that the necessary arrangements have been put in place to finance any costs

related to the deployment and operation of the asset2, in order to allow for an availability of

departure of maximum 12 hours after the acceptance of the offer – see point 8 below (for all

assets concerned – if the asset is available on a rotation basis).

A description of the measures taken with respect to logistical arrangements should also be

provided. These arrangements could include: agreements with airline companies (for assets

that can be transported by air) or reliance on the Commission's transport contractor / broker,

ad-hoc arrangements, etc. (for all assets concerned – if the asset is available on a rotation

basis).

7. Exact duration of the pre-commitment in the ECPP [minimum one year, maximum three

years] from the moment it is certified. It should be accompanied by an official

correspondence from the national CP authority to the Director General of DG ECHO.

8. Information on the guaranteed time of availability for departure [maximum 12 hours after

the acceptance of the offer]: …

9. The geographic location of the asset, the indicative location of mobilisation (airport etc.),

the normal geographic scope of deployment, as well as geographic restrictions, if any.

This should be indicated for each of the modules, in case of modules put forward by more

than one country on a rotation basis.

2 The amount of Union financial assistance for capacities pre- committed to the European Civil Protection

Pool shall not exceed 75 % of the costs of operating the capacities, including transport, in the event of

a disaster or imminent disaster inside or outside the Union (art. 23.2. of REGULATION 2021/836

amending the Decision 1313/2013/EU)

3

10. Standard Operating Procedures of the module, including technical assistance and support

team, or other response capacity.

The SOPs of the module (available in English) should be attached to this application as such.

They have to be in line with the available Modules SOPs Guidelines developed under the

Union Civil Protection Mechanism (the guidelines can be downloaded from CECIS).

11. All relevant transport handling information, such as measures, weights, flight restrictions

etc., preferred modes of transport; if relevant: access to harbours.

12. Any other restrictions or advantages of the module, TAST or response asset (i.e. climate

related information) and other foreseeable conditions of deployment (i.e. type of fuel).

13. "Experience File", including the following:

a) summaries of previous deployments of the module, TAST, or other response capacity

– focus on recent emergencies (last 3-5 years), and provide information on the type

of emergency, the mission duration, number of personnel deployed, final output;

b) participation in the UCPM exercises or international exercises;

c) training of key personnel (Team Leader, Deputy Team Leader, Liaison Officer)

through the UCPM, UN or international relevant training;

d) participation of key personnel in UCPM exercises or international exercises;

e) compliance with international standards where relevant (e.g. INSARAG, WHO,

IFRC etc.).

In case of modules, TAST or other response capacity, put forward by more than one country

on a rotation basis, this should be indicated for each of the modules.

14. A self-assessment of adaptation needs and associated costs: a first indication should be

given in this application of the adaptation costs and the associated timeline, according to the

information available. A separate grant request will have to be made for adaptation costs,

during the certification phase.

15. All necessary contact information.

a) Contact person for clarification questions that the Commission may have during the

preliminary check and during the certification and registration procedure.

b) Single operational contact point (24/7) for the ERCC – to be used for communication

related to specific deployments.

European Commission

Union Civil Protection Mechanism Factsheet for [TYPE OF CAPACITY]

[version / date]

G en

er a

l In

fo rm

a ti

o n

1.1 Country/countries

1.2 Code/Capacity type/number ……/………/……

1.3 Ready for departure (in hours)

1.4 Available time period

1.5 General information on the response

capacity / standards and guidelines /

main components

[for modules, please fill in to reflect the minimum

technical requirements, see Annex II of

Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/704.]

1.6 Contact details

1.7 Military personnel or equipment Yes / No

O p

er a ti

o n

a l

in fo

rm a

ti o

n

2.1 Deployment radius (in-outside EU)

2.2 Number of personnel

2.3 Number of vehicles

2.4 Weight of the equipment (kg)

2.5 Volume of the equipment (m3)

2.6 Operational readiness on site (in hours

from arrival)

2.7 Indicative location of departure

2.8 Transportation possibilities

(land/air/maritime)

2.9 Participation in exercises (national

and international)

Exercise:

From: to:

Tasks:

2.10 Participation in emergency response

operations

Emergency:

From: to:

Tasks:

2.11 Additional information

L o g

is ti

cs

3.1 Self sufficiency [for each self-sufficiency item – see article 12 of

Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/704, please

specify if self-sufficiency is reached through own

means or external support, including HNS]

3.2 Maintenance by requesting country

3.3 Average fuel consumption (per day)

3.4 Type of fuel

3.5 Need for in-country transportation If yes, number and type of vehicles:

3.6 Hazardous items

3.7 Specific logistic needs

3.8 Additional information

ANNEX VI: ECPP capacity gaps

HCP (High capacity pumping) 17 20 3 WP (Water purification) 7 6 -1 FC (Flood containment) 2 2 0 FRB (Flood rescue using boats) 5 2 -3 LIGHT USAR (Light urban search and rescue) 1 3 2 MUSAR (Medium urban search and rescue) 4 3 -1 MUSAR (Medium urban search and rescue) - in Cold Conditions 1 1 0 HUSAR (Heavy urban search and rescue) 11 4 -7 Mountain search and rescue 1 3 2 Cave search and rescue 2 3 1 FFFP (Aerial forest fire fighting module using planes) 2 2 0 FFFH (Aerial forest firefighting using helicopters) 0 2 2 GFFF (Ground forest fire fighting) 5 4 -1 GFFF-V (Ground forest fire fighting using vehicles) 15 15 0 CBRNDET (CBRN detection and sampling) 7 6 -1 CBRN Decontamination 1 2 1 CBRNUSAR (USAR in CBRN conditions) 0 2 2 MEDEVAC (Medical aerial evacuation of disaster victims) 0 2 2 MEDEVAC HID (Medical aerial evacuation of highly infectious diseases patients)

0 2 2

EMT type 1 fixed (Emergency medical team type 1 - fixed) 7 15 8 EMT type 1 mobile (Emergency medical team type 1 - mobile) 1 6 5 EMT type 1 fixed/mobile 1 -1 EMT type 2 (Emergency medical team type 2) 6 6 0 EMT type 3 (Emergency medical team type 3) 0 1 1 ES (Emergency shelter) 1 4 3 CHP (Cultural Heritage Protection) 0 2 2 EES (Emergency Energy supply) 0 2 2 T&L (Transport and logistics) 0 2 2 Bridges capacity 0 2 2 Costal and freshwater pollution response 0 2 2 TAST (Technical assistance and Support Team) 5 2 -3 TAST (Technical Assistance and Support Team for cold conditions) 1 -1 ORC: Burns Assessment Teams (BAT) 0 2 2 ORC: Transport and Logistics (non-aerial configurations) 0 2 2 ORC: Pollution detection (at-sea, shoreline, inland) 0 2 2 ORC: Shoreline and inland pollution response (on-land pollution recovery, waste management and oiled wildlife response) 1 2 1 ORC: WSAR (Teams for water search and rescue) 1 2 1

Registered Capacity

goal Capacity

gap

ORC: Teams with specialized search and rescue equipment, e.g. search robots 0 2 2

ORC: Teams for maritime incident response (MIRG) 1 2 1 ORC: Structural engineering teams 1 2 1 ORC: Evacuation support: including teams for information management and logistics

1 2 1

ORC: Fire-fighting: advisory/ assessment Teams 1 2 1 ORC: Mobile laboratories for environmental emergencies 1 2 1 ORC: Communication team or platforms to quickly re-establish communications in remote areas

2 2 0

ORC: Medical Evacuation Jets Air Ambulance and Medical Evacuation Helicopter

0 2 2

ORC: Additional Shelter Capacity: units for 250 persons (50 tents) 0 ORC: Additional Capacity Shelter-kit: units for 2 500 persons (500 tarpaulins); with toolkit possibly to be procured locally

0

ORC: Water pumps with minimum capacity to pump 800 l/min 0 ORC: Power generators of 5-150 kW 0 ORC: Power generators above 150 kW 0 ORC: At-sea pollution response (offshore, heavy equipment, recovery vessels)

0 2 2

ORC: Emergency medical teams for specialised care 0 8 8 ORC: Mobile biosafety laboratories 1 4 3 ORC: Standing Engineering Capacity 0 2 2 ORC: Other response capacities necessary to address identified risks 0 ORC: Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) 3 2 -1 ORC: Relief items and other types of in-kind assistance 1

117 172 55

Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM)

Invitation to submit a proposal

European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants

(UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA)

Version 1.0 08 December 2025

Call: UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA — European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants

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INVITATION TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3 1. Background .......................................................................................................... 4 2. Objectives — Themes and priorities - Expected outcomes .................................... 5

2.1 Objectives ..................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Priorities and themes ...................................................................................... 5 2.3 Expected outcomes ......................................................................................... 6

3 Available budget ................................................................................................... 6 4 Timetable and deadlines ....................................................................................... 7 5 Admissibility and documents ................................................................................ 7 6 Eligibility .............................................................................................................. 9

6.1 Eligible participants (eligible countries) ............................................................. 9 6.2 Consortium composition ................................................................................ 10 6.3 Eligible activities ........................................................................................... 10 6.4 Ineligible activities ........................................................................................ 11 6.5 Geographic location (target countries)............................................................. 11

7 Financial and operational capacity and exclusion ............................................... 13 7.1 Financial capacity ......................................................................................... 13 7.2 Operational capacity ..................................................................................... 13 7.3 Exclusion ..................................................................................................... 14

8 Evaluation and award procedure ........................................................................ 15 9 Award criteria ..................................................................................................... 16 10 Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements ........................................... 18

10.1 Starting date and project duration .................................................................. 18 10.2 Milestones and deliverables ........................................................................... 18 10.3 Form of grant, funding rate and maximum grant amount .................................. 18 10.4 Budget categories and cost eligibility rules ....................................................... 19 10.5 Reporting and payment arrangements ............................................................ 21 10.6 Pre-financing guarantees ............................................................................... 21 10.7 Certificates .................................................................................................. 21 10.8 Liability regime for recoveries ........................................................................ 22 10.9 Provisions concerning the project implementation ............................................. 22 10.10 Non-compliance and breach of contract ........................................................... 22

11 How to submit an application ............................................................................. 23 12 Help .................................................................................................................... 24 13 Important ........................................................................................................... 25 Annex I - Rules for use of equipment procured under adaptation grants ................... 27 Annex II – Commitment letter (model) ..................................................................... 27 Annex III – Average costs of developing the capacities ............................................ 27 Annex IV – Application form to ECPP ......................................................................... 27 Annex V – Factsheet (template) ................................................................................ 27 Annex VI – ECPP goals and gaps ............................................................................... 27

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Emergency Response Coordination Centre Civil Protection Emergency Response Capabilities

Call: UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA — European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants

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Introduction

This is an invitation to submit proposals for EU grants in the field of prevention and

preparedness projects on civil protection and more specifically adaptation grants, in the

field of the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP, the Pool) under the Union Civil

Protection Mechanism (UCPM).

The regulatory framework for this EU Funding Programme is set out in:

− Regulation 2024/2509 (EU Financial Regulation1)

− the basic act (UCPM Decision 1313/20132)

− Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/7043

The invitation is launched in accordance with the UCPM Multi-Annual Work Programme

2021-20274 and will be managed by the European Commission, Directorate-

General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG

ECHO).

The invitation covers the following topic:

UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC— European Civil Protection Pool Upgrade

and/or repair of ECPP response capacities

We invite you to read the documentation carefully, and in particular the present

document, the Model Grant Agreement, the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual

and the EU Grants AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.

These documents provide clarifications and answers to questions you may have when

preparing your application:

− the present document outlines the:

− background, objectives, scope, activities that can be funded and the

expected results (sections 1 and 2)

− available budget and timetable (sections 3 and 4)

− admissibility and eligibility conditions (including mandatory documents;

sections 5 and 6)

− criteria for financial and operational capacity and exclusion (section 7)

− evaluation and award procedure (section 8)

− award criteria (section 9)

− legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements (section 10)

1 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024

on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast) (‘EU Financial Regulation’) (OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024).

2 Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 924).

3 Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/704 of 10 April 2025 laying down rules for the implementation of Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism and repealing Commission Decisions 2014/762/EU and (EU) 2019/1310 (notified under document C(2025) 2130)

4 COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 17.10.2025 on the financing of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and adopting a multiannual work programme for 2021-2027, repealing and replacing Implementing Decision C(2024) 7235

Call: UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA — European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants

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− how to submit an application (section 11)

− the Online Manual outlines the:

− procedures to register and submit proposals online via the EU Funding &

Tenders Portal (‘Portal’)

− recommendations for the preparation of the application

− the AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement contains:

− detailed annotations on all the provisions in the Grant Agreement you

will have to sign in order to obtain the grant (including cost eligibility,

payment schedule, accessory obligations, etc.).

1. Background

The Union Civil Protection Mechanism ('the Union Mechanism') governed by Decision

No 1313/2013/EU (hereafter 'Decision No 1313/2013/EU’), strengthens cooperation

between the Union and the Member States and facilitates coordination in the field of

civil protection to improve the Union's response to natural and human-induced

disasters.

NB: In the present document, wherever a reference is made to ‘Member State’ it should

be understood as referring to both EU Member States and UCPM Participating States5.

Article 11 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU defines the legal framework of the European

Civil Protection Pool (‘ECPP’). The ECPP consists of a pool of voluntarily pre-committed

response capacities of the Member States and includes modules, Technical Assistance

and Support Teams (TAST), other response capacities (ORCs) and categories of

experts.

Article 21(2)(c) of Decision No 1313/2013 sets out the eligibility of actions for financial

assistance, for the adaptation of Member States' response capacities to a state of

readiness and availability that makes them deployable as part of the European Civil

Protection Pool”.

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/704 hereafter referred to as ‘the

Implementing Decision’, defines the rules for setting up the ECPP. In particular,

chapters 4 and 5, and Annexes II, III and V, are relevant for the implementation of the

ECPP and the related financing of adaptation costs.

Obligation to commit the capacity to the ECPP when an adaptation grant is granted:

In accordance with Article 19 of the Implementing Decision, a Member State receiving

Union financial support for the adaptation of a response capacity shall commit the latter

to the Pool for a minimum period depending on the total amount of funding received.

The minimum period will be determined as follows, starting from the effective

availability of the capacity to the Pool (i.e. after successful completion of the

certification):

• 3 years for capacities receiving up to EUR 300 000 of financial support;

5 Currently, 37 states - the 27 EU Member States and Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Iceland, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia,

Türkiye and Ukraine - are participating in the UCPM.

Call: UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA — European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants

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• 5 years for capacities receiving from EUR 300 001 up to EUR 1 000 000 of

financial support;

• 7 years for capacities receiving from EUR 1 000 001 up to EUR 2 000 000 of

financial support;

• 10 years for capacities receiving more than EUR 2 000 000 of financial support.

2. Objectives — Themes and priorities - Expected outcomes

UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC— European Civil Protection Pool Upgrade and/or repair of ECPP

response capacities

2.1 Objectives

The objective of the adaptation grant is to upgrade and/or repair Member States'

response capacities to a state of readiness and availability that makes them deployable

as part of the ECPP.

An upgrade or repair grant can be requested:

1) as the result of an ongoing or completed certification process (in particular to address

recommendations made at any stage of this process). If required by Article 19 of the

Implementing Decision (see above) an official letter to extend the commitment period

in the ECPP must be attached to the grant application (Annex II).

2) before the ECPP certification has started. In this case, the application can only be

accepted for evaluation provided that an official letter to commit the capacity in the

ECPP signed by the responsible national Civil Protection Authority is attached to the

grant application, in line with Article 2 of the Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/13 (see

Annex II).

Definition of repair: to put something that is damaged, broken, or not working correctly,

back into good condition or make it work again. Repair activities may involve replacing

faulty parts, fixing defects, and conducting testing to ensure that the asset functions

correctly.

2.2 Priorities and themes

To contribute to achieving the above general objectives, applicants should, where

relevant, focus on the following priorities and themes:

i) All capacities (modules, TAST and ORCs are eligible. Applications for response

capacities for which there is a proven capacity gap (see annex VI) will be scored

higher (see point 9).

ii) Applicants are encouraged to submit application for types of capacities for which the

capacity goals are not met – see Annex VI

iii) Applicants should identify and propose activities that can make the response

capacity:

- more digital, with the objective of enhancing its performance in UCPM deployments,

and

- greener, in particular through better waste management, higher energy or resource

efficiency and lower reliance on fossil fuels.

Call: UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA — European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants

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iv) Applicants are encouraged to propose activities that help address gender inequalities

or differences and the needs of people living with disabilities.

v) Each application has to include dedicated communication activities to promote the

UCPM and the ECPP, and activities to enhance the EU visibility, in line with the EU

visibility and communication manual for civil protection. The minimum EU visibility

package must include:

- marking of all equipment procured with the EU logo + “Co-funded by the European

Union” (see the ”Communication and Visibility Manual for European Union-funded Civil

Protection Actions”),

- patches (model below) to be worn by all the staff members of the capacity,

- EU flags.

These visibility elements have to be systematically used in all UCPM deployments and

exercises.

Figure 1 Model of patch

2.3 Expected outcomes

- Increased ability of the EU to respond to disasters, through a strengthened disaster

preparedness in the UCPM area.

- ECPP capacities are geographically better distributed to allow for quick and effective

deployment to different risk prone areas.

- ECPP capacities are capable to intervene in more diverse operating conditions during

international deployments.

3 Available budget

The total indicative budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects under this direct

grant award is estimated at EUR 6 000 000.

We reserve the right not to award all available funds (depending on the proposals

received and the results of the evaluation) or to lower the available funding in case of

overriding public interests that necessitate a change of UCPM priorities.

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4 Timetable and deadlines

Timetable and deadlines

Opening: 09 December 2025

Deadline for submission: 10 March 2026 – 17:00:00 CET

(Brussels)

Evaluation (tentative): April-June 2026

Information on evaluation results

(tentative): June – July 2026

GA signature (tentative): September – October 2026

5 Admissibility and documents

Proposals must be submitted before the deadline (see timetable section 4).

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic

Submission System (accessible via the link in the invitation letter). Paper submissions

are NOT possible.

Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the

forms provided inside the Submission System and the DG ECHO website.

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required

annexes and supporting documents:

− Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the

participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the

summarised budget for the project

(to be filled in directly online)

− Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project

(mandatory word template to be downloaded from the Portal Submission

System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as PDF)

− Mandatory annexes and supporting documents (to be uploaded):

– Detailed budget table (mandatory excel template available in the

Electronic Submission System) to be submitted on the portal

– Activity reports of last year: not applicable to public authorities,

mandatory for private entities.

– List of previous EU-funded projects (key projects for the last 4 years)

(template available in Part B)

– Annex I to the present Invitation to submit a proposal - Rules for the use

of equipment procured under adaptation grants (applicants shall copy the

wording in Annex I to the present call document and attach it at the end

of the application form Part B before assembling and uploading as one

PDF file).

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− Letter of support (see template available with Part B) signed by the

Director General (DG) or any other authorized representative of the

competent national civil protection authority of each country that will

benefit from the action (except for participants which themselves are the

national authority).

– Commitment letter to the ECPP (where relevant) signed by the DG or any

other authorized representative of the competent national civil protection

authority of each country that will benefit from the action – please see

Annex II (for newly committed capacities, to be adapted as necessary in

other cases).

– For capacities new to the ECPP, completed application form (Annex IV),

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or equivalent (that demonstrate

that the response capacity already exists as a pre-defined arrangement

of human and material means that can be described in terms of capacity

for intervention and tasks) and factsheet (Annex V).

– For Emergency Medical Team (EMT) capacities, Expression of Interest to

World Health Organization (WHO) and, if available, the completed self-

assessment.

– For non-classified Light Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Medium USAR

and Heavy USAR teams, proof that the INSARAG6 process was launched

(e.g. official letter of application and assignment of mentor)

The Description of the Action and the annexes must be drafted in one of the EU official

languages. However, in order to facilitate the assessment by evaluators, applicants are

encouraged to submit their application in English.

Please note that the amounts entered into the summarised budget table (filled in

directly online) must correspond to the amounts calculated in the detailed budget table.

In case of discrepancies, the amounts in the online summarised budget table will

prevail.

At proposal submission, you will have to confirm that you have the mandate to act

for all applicants. Moreover, you will have to confirm that the information in the

application is correct and complete and that the participants comply with the conditions

for receiving EU funding (especially eligibility, financial and operational capacity,

exclusion, etc.). Before signing the grant, each beneficiary and affiliated entity will have

to confirm this again by signing a declaration of honour (DoH). Proposals without full

support will be rejected.

Your application must be readable, accessible and printable (please check carefully

the layout of the documents uploaded).

Proposals are limited to maximum 60 pages (Part B). Evaluators will not consider any

additional pages.

You may be asked at a later stage for further documents (for legal entity validation,

financial capacity check, bank account validation, etc.).

For more information about the submission process (including IT aspects), consult

the Online Manual.

6 International Search and Rescue Advisory Group

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6 Eligibility

6.1 Eligible participants (eligible countries)

Proposals may be submitted by Member States' national civil protection authorities or

other entities authorised by them (through a letter of support) to request and receive

financial support from the Commission.

To be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

− be legal entities (public or private bodies)

− be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:

• EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))

• UCPM Participating States: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland,

Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and

Ukraine.

Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register — before

submitting the proposal — and will have to be validated by the Central Validation

Service (REA Validation). For the validation, they will be requested to upload documents

showing legal status and origin.

Other entities may participate in other consortium roles, such as associated partners,

subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions, etc. (see section 13).

Specific cases and definitions

Natural persons — Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of self-

employed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality

separate from that of the natural person).

International organisations — International organisations are eligible. The rules on

eligible countries do not apply to them.

Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under

their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives

have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf and offer guarantees

for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal

persons7.

EU bodies can NOT be part of the consortium.

Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members may participate

as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’8. Please note that if

the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either as

beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).

Countries currently negotiating association agreements — Beneficiaries from countries

with ongoing negotiations for participation in the Union Mechanism may participate in

the call and can sign grants if the negotiations are concluded before grant signature

and if the association covers the call (i.e. is retroactive and covers both the part of the

programme and the year when the call was launched).

7 See Article 200(2)(c) EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509. 8 For the definitions, see Articles 190(2) and 200(2)(c) EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.

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EU restrictive measures — Special rules apply for entities subject to EU restrictive

measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215

of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)9. Such entities are not eligible to

participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated

partners, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).

EU conditionality measures — Special rules apply for entities subject to measures

adopted on the basis of EU Regulation 2020/209210. Such entities are not eligible to

participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors,

recipients of financial support to third parties, etc.). Currently such measures are in

place for Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of

2021 or any entity they maintain (see Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506,

as of 16 December 2022).

For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and

Financial Capacity Assessment.

6.2 Consortium composition

Applications by single applicants are allowed (single beneficiaries; affiliated entities and

other participants are allowed, if needed).

6.3 Eligible activities

Activities that can be funded (scope)

Below is an exhaustive list of activities for which the related costs may be considered

eligible for an adaptation grant, provided that the application demonstrates that

these activities specifically relate to the capacity's participation in UCPM

deployments. Please explain why and how the planned activities are specifically

needed for UCPM deployment, and are not instead part of the indispensable/core

equipment or activities required for domestic response:

• Activities contributing to improved autonomy and self-sufficiency of the

respective module, TAST or ORC,

• Activities contributing to a faster transportability, e.g. lighter equipment,

solutions to reduce volume by new containers and packaging equipment, EU

standardised pallets;

• Activities contributing to enhanced safety and security, e.g. personal protection

equipment or other personal equipment;

• Activities contributing to enhanced communication tools, e.g. satellite

communication equipment, Information and Communication Technologies

(ICT)equipment and relevant applications, radios;

• Activities contributing to interoperability and enhanced readiness for

deployment, e.g. training, including "train the trainers", in view of enlarging the roster

9 Please note that the EU Official Journal contains the official list and, in case of conflict, its content prevails

over that of the EU Sanctions Map. 10 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020

on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget (OJ L 325, 20.12.2022, p. 94).

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of staff, development and translation of SOPs, IT tools for registration of the staff on

roster, and individual internal team drills;

• Activities aiming to form multinational response capacities, e.g. workshops,

trainings, development of common methodologies or standards, common SOPs;

• Activities specifically related to the certification process that cannot be covered

by or are not undertaken as part of other EU-funded activities, e.g. obligatory training

courses that are not available under the UCPM training programme, exercises that are

not part of MODEX or other types of exercises co-financed by the UCPM;

• Project management activities, e.g. organisation of events, procurement,

capacity monitoring and review, reporting, financial management. Please make sure

that the costs of the project management activities do not exceed 20% of the total

costs of the project.

• Repair activities. Please refer to point 2.1 for the definition of repair.

Projects must comply with EU policy interests and priorities (such as environment,

social, security, industrial and trade policy, etc). Projects must also respect EU values

and European Commission policy regarding reputational matters (e.g. activities

involving capacity building, policy support, awareness raising, communication,

dissemination, etc).

In addition, please see section 2.2 (Priorities and themes).

6.4 Ineligible activities

The following activities are not considered as eligible for funding under this invitation:

− Activities related to the development of new capacities,

− Activities related to the maintenance of response capacities,

− Recurrent costs for activities that will have to be borne after the grant

implementation period,

− Activities covered by other EU-funded grants (e.g. under the WHO contribution

agreement - Support to the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative

(mentorship and classification process, standard setting and training support);

MODEX

− Project management activities costs exceeding 20% of the total costs of the

project.

Financial support to third parties is not allowed.

6.5 Geographic location (target countries)

Proposals must relate to activities taking place in the eligible countries (see above).

6.6 Security

Projects involving EU classified information must undergo security scrutiny to authorise

funding and may be made subject to specific security rules (detailed in a security

aspects letter (SAL) which is annexed to the Grant Agreement).

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These rules (governed by Decision 2015/44411 and its implementing rules and/or

national rules) provide for instance that:

− projects involving information classified TRES SECRET UE/EU TOP SECRET (or

equivalent) can NOT be funded

− classified information must be marked in accordance with the applicable security

instructions in the SAL

− information with classification levels CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or

above (and RESTREINT UE/ EU RESTRICTED, if required by national rules) may

be:

− created or accessed only on premises with facility security clearance

(FSC) from the competent national security authority (NSA), in

accordance with the national rules

− handled only in a secured area accredited by the competent NSA

− accessed and handled only by persons with valid personnel security

clearance (PSC) and a need-to-know

− at the end of the grant, the classified information must either be returned or

continue to be protected in accordance with the applicable rules

− action tasks involving EU classified information (EUCI) may be subcontracted

only with prior written approval from the granting authority and only to entities

established in an EU Member State or in a non-EU country with a security of

information agreement with the EU (or an administrative arrangement with the

Commission)

− disclosure of EUCI to third parties is subject to prior written approval from the

granting authority.

Please note that, depending on the type of activity, facility security clearance may have

to be provided before grant signature. The granting authority will assess the need for

clearance in each case and will establish their delivery date during grant preparation.

Please note that in no circumstances can we sign any grant agreement until at least

one of the beneficiaries in a consortium has facility security clearance.

Further security recommendations may be added to the Grant Agreement in the form

of security deliverables (e.g. create security advisory group, limit level of detail, use

fake scenario, exclude use of classified information, etc).

Beneficiaries must ensure that their projects are not subject to national/third-country

security requirements that could affect implementation or put into question the award

of the grant (e.g. technology restrictions, national security classification, etc). The

granting authority must be notified immediately of any potential security issues.

11 See Commission Decision 2015/444/EU,Euratom of 13 March 2015 on the security rules for protecting

EU classified information (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, p. 53.

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7 Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

7.1 Financial capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement the

projects and contribute their share. Organisations participating in several projects must

have sufficient capacity to implement all these projects.

The financial capacity check will be carried out on the basis of the documents you will

be requested to upload in the Participant Register during grant preparation (e.g. profit

and loss account and balance sheet, business plan, audit report produced by an

approved external auditor, certifying the accounts for the last closed financial year,

etc.). The analysis will be based on neutral financial indicators, but will also take into

account other aspects, such as dependency on EU funding and deficit and revenue in

previous years.

The check will normally be done for all beneficiaries, except:

− public bodies (entities established as public body under national law, including

local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations

− if the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000.

If needed, it may also be done for affiliated entities.

If we consider that your financial capacity is not satisfactory, we may require:

− further information

− an enhanced financial responsibility regime, i.e. joint and several responsibility

for all beneficiaries or joint and several liability of affiliated entities (see below,

section 10)

− pre-financing paid in instalments.

− (one or more) pre-financing guarantees (see below, section 10)

or

− propose no pre-financing

− request that you are replaced or, if needed, reject the entire proposal.

For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and

Financial Capacity Assessment.

7.2 Operational capacity

Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully

implement the projects and contribute their share (including sufficient experience in

projects of comparable size and nature).

This capacity will be assessed together with the ‘Quality’ award criterion, on the basis

of the competence and experience of the applicants and their project teams, including

operational resources (human, technical and other) or, exceptionally, the measures

proposed to obtain it by the time the task implementation starts.

If the evaluation of the award criterion is positive, the applicants are considered to have

sufficient operational capacity.

Applicants will have to show their capacity via the following information:

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− general profiles (qualifications and experiences) of the staff responsible for

managing and implementing the project

− description of the consortium participants

− applicants’ activity reports of last year

− list of previous projects (key projects for the last 4 years)

Additional supporting documents may be requested, if needed to confirm the

operational capacity of any applicant.

Public bodies, Member State organisations and international organisations are

exempted from the operational capacity check.

7.3 Exclusion

Applicants which are subject to an EU exclusion decision or in one of the following

exclusion situations that bar them from receiving EU funding can NOT participate12:

− bankruptcy, winding up, affairs administered by the courts, arrangement with

creditors, suspended business activities or other similar procedures (including

procedures for persons with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts)

− in breach of social security or tax obligations (including if done by persons with

unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts)

− guilty of grave professional misconduct13 (including if done by persons having

powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or

persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant)

− committed fraud, corruption, links to a criminal organisation, money laundering,

terrorism-related crimes (including terrorism financing), child labour or human

trafficking (including if done by persons having powers of representation,

decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for

the award/implementation of the grant)

− shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations under an EU

procurement contract, grant agreement, prize, expert contract, or similar

(including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making

or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the

award/implementation of the grant)

− guilty of irregularities within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Regulation No

2988/95 (including if done by persons having powers of representation,

decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for

the award/implementation of the grant)

− created under a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social

or other legal obligations in the country of origin or created another entity with

this purpose (including if done by persons having powers of representation,

12 See Articles 138 and 143 of EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509. 13 ‘Professional misconduct’ includes, in particular, the following: violation of ethical standards of the

profession; wrongful conduct with impact on professional credibility; breach of generally accepted professional ethical standards; false declarations/misrepresentation of information; participation in a cartel or other agreement distorting competition; violation of IPR; attempting to influence decision- making processes by taking advantage, through misrepresentation, of a conflict of interests, or to obtain confidential information from public authorities to gain an advantage; incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence or similar activities contrary to the EU values where negatively affecting or risking to affect the performance of a legal commitment.

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decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for

the award/implementation of the grant).

− intentionally and without proper justification resisted14 an investigation, check

or audit carried out by an EU authorising officer (or their representative or

auditor), OLAF, the EPPO, or the European Court of Auditors.

Applicants will also be rejected if it turns out that15:

− during the award procedure they misrepresented information required as a

condition for participating or failed to supply that information

− they were previously involved in the preparation of the call and this entails a

distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise (conflict of

interest).

8 Evaluation and award procedure

The proposals will have to follow the standard submission and evaluation

procedure (one-stage submission + one-step evaluation).

An evaluation committee will assess all applications. Proposals will first be checked

for formal requirements (admissibility, and eligibility, see sections 5 and 6). Proposals

found admissible and eligible will be evaluated against the operational capacity and

award criteria (see sections 7 and 9) and then ranked according to their scores.

For proposals with the same score a priority order will be determined according to the

following approach:

Successively for every group of ex aequo proposals, starting with the highest scored

group, and continuing in descending order:

1) they will be ranked according to their score for criterion “Impact”,

2) then if a tie remains, according to their score for criterion “Quality”.

3) In addition to the above-mentioned award criteria, when awarding the projects, the

Commission reserves the right to take into account the geographical repartition of the

capacities to ensure an optimal coverage of the EU. In case of competing proposals

within the same geographical area, proposals with the same overall score will be ranked

according to their score for criterion “Impact”.

All proposals will be informed about the evaluation result (evaluation result letter).

Successful proposals will be invited for grant agreement preparation (GAP); the other

ones will be put on the reserve list or rejected.

No commitment for funding — Invitation to grant preparation does NOT constitute

a formal commitment for funding. We will still need to make various legal checks before

grant award: legal entity validation, financial capacity, exclusion check, etc.

Grant preparation will involve a dialogue in order to fine-tune technical or financial

aspects of the project and may require extra information from your side. It may also

include adjustments to the proposal to address recommendations of the evaluation

14 ‘Resisting an investigation, check or audit’ means carrying out actions with the goal or effect of

preventing, hindering or delaying the conduct of any of the activities needed to perform the investigation, check or audit, such as refusing to grant the necessary access to its premises or any other areas used for business purposes, concealing or refusing to disclose information or providing false information.

15 See Article 143 EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.

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committee or other concerns. Compliance will be a pre-condition for signing the grant

agreement.

If you believe that the evaluation procedure was flawed, you can submit a complaint

(following the deadlines and procedures set out in the evaluation result letter). Please

note that notifications which have not been opened within 10 days after sending are

considered to have been accessed and that deadlines will be counted from

opening/access (see also Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions). Please also

be aware that for complaints submitted electronically, there may be character

limitations.

9 Award criteria

The award criteria facilitate the evaluation of proposals in relation to the set objectives

and priorities. They enable the selection of proposals which the Contracting Authority

can be confident will comply with its objectives and priorities.

− Relevance (maximum 30 points):

How relevant is the proposal to the objectives of the invitation to apply, namely how

funding this upgrade and/or repair enhances international deployability of the

response capacity? (10 points)

Does the application concern the type of capacity for which the capacity goal is not

met? (10 points)

Cross-cutting issues (5 points):

Will the proposal make the response capacity greener and more digital?

Where relevant, is the proposal addressing gender inequalities or differences and

the needs of people living with disabilities?

To what extent the proposal enhances EU visibility and communication on the ECPP

and the UCPM in general?

Justification (5 points):

Where applicable, does the proposal clearly address the findings and

recommendations of an ongoing or completed certification process?

To what extent does the project description demonstrate a need for the proposed

action?

Are problems, needs and objectives correctly described? To what extent is the

proposal addressing them?

− Quality (maximum 40 points):

1. Coherence of the design of the action (20 points)

To what extent are the expected project results clear, appropriate, and realistic?

To what extent is the work plan for implementing the action clear, feasible and

effective?

To what extent are the activities and their results clearly described and consistent?

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To what extent does the project description identify and assess potential risks to

the implementation of the proposed action? Are proper risk mitigation measures

proposed?

2. Project management (10 points):

To what extent the measures chosen to monitor the activities are clearly described

and consistent with the expected results?

To what extent does the applicant/consortium have the necessary resources,

including human resources, to ensure the implementation of the proposed action?

To what extent has the applicant/consortium adequate organisational structure and

procedures to ensure decision-making, coordination and monitoring of the action

proposed in the application?

3. Resources (10 points):

To what extent is the proposed action feasible within the proposed timeframe, given

the resources available?

To what extent is the proposed budget adequate? Is cost effectiveness

(sufficient/appropriate budget for proper implementation) adequate? Is cost

efficiency (ratio between results and costs) satisfactory?

How well are the activities reflected in the budget?

− Impact (maximum 30 points):

How will the action contribute to the expected outcomes from this invitation (see

2.3), namely:

- Increased ability of the EU to respond to disasters, through a strengthened

European disaster preparedness in the UCPM area and in particular

contributing to closing the capacity gaps (see Annex VI) (20 points)

- ECPP capacities are geographically distributed to allow for quick and

effective deployment to different risk prone areas (4 points)

- ECPP capacities are able to intervene in more diverse operating conditions

during international deployments (4 points)

- Will the proposed measures for communicating and disseminating the

project results have a positive impact? (2 points)

Maximum score: 100 points.

Award criteria Minimum pass score

Maximum score

Relevance 15 30

Quality 20 40

Impact 15 30

Overall (pass) scores 65 100

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Individual thresholds per criterion: 15/30, 20/40 and 15/30 points.

Overall threshold: 65 points.

Proposals that pass the individual thresholds AND the overall threshold will be

considered for funding — within the limits of the available call budget. Other proposals

will be rejected.

10 Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements

If you pass the evaluation, you will be invited for grant preparation, where you will be

asked to prepare the Grant Agreement together with the EU Project Officer.

This Grant Agreement will set the framework for your grant and its terms and

conditions, in particular concerning deliverables, reporting and payments.

The Model Grant Agreement that will be used (and all other relevant templates and

guidance documents) can be found on Portal Reference Documents.

10.1 Starting date and project duration

The project starting date and duration will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet,

point 1). Normally the starting date will be after grant signature. Retroactive starting

date can be granted exceptionally for duly justified reasons — but never earlier than

the proposal submission date.

Project duration: the initial duration of the project cannot exceed 24 months.

Extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment.

10.2 Milestones and deliverables

The milestones and deliverables for each project will be managed through the Portal

Grant Management System and will be reflected in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement.

The following deliverables are mandatory for all projects:

− Progress reports at mid term

− Updated detailed budget table at mid-term (with actual costs presented)

− Up-to-date SOPs and factsheet at the end of the project

− For Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs): Update on the WHO classification process

for capacities not yet verified by WHO with the progress and final report

− For non-classified USAR teams: Update on the INSARAG classification process

with the progress and final report

10.3 Form of grant, funding rate and maximum grant amount

The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.)

will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 3 and art 5).

Project budget (maximum grant amount): No minimum or maximum limit. The grant

awarded may be lower than the amount requested.

The grant will be a budget-based mixed actual cost grant (actual costs, with unit cost

and flat-rate elements). This means that ONLY certain types of costs (eligible costs)

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and costs that were actually incurred for your project (NOT the budgeted costs) will be

reimbursed. For unit costs and flat rates, you can charge the amounts calculated as

explained in the Grant Agreement (see art 6 and Annex 2 and 2a).

The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rate fixed in the Grant Agreement

(maximum 75%).

Upgrade: The EU financial contribution will be defined by applying a maximum co-

financing rate of 75 % to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the

beneficiary and its affiliated entities provided that these do not exceed 50% of the

average cost of developing the capacity (Annex III is used as a reference for the

estimated average cost of developing a capacity).

In case the capacity is not listed in Annex III, the applicant has to provide in the

application or as a supporting document the total actual cost (equipment, staff and

training included) of developing the said capacity.

Repair: The EU financial contribution will be defined by applying a maximum co-

financing rate of 75 % to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the

beneficiary.

Grants may NOT produce a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs). For-

profit organisations must declare their revenues and, if there is a profit, we will deduct

it from the final grant amount (see art 22.3).

Moreover, please be aware that the final grant amount may be reduced in case of non-

compliance with the Grant Agreement (e.g. improper implementation, breach of

obligations, non-compliance with the visibility obligations, etc.).

10.4 Budget categories and cost eligibility rules

The budget categories and cost eligibility rules are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data

Sheet, point 3, art 6 and Annex 2).

Budget categories for this call:

− A. Personnel costs

− A.1 Employees,

− A.2 Natural persons under direct contract,

− A.3 Seconded persons

− A.4 SME owners and natural person beneficiaries

− A.5 Volunteers

− B. Subcontracting costs

− C. Purchase costs

− C.1 Travel and subsistence

− C.2 Equipment

− C.3 Other goods, works and services

− E. Indirect costs

Specific cost eligibility conditions for this call:

Personnel costs:

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− average personnel costs (unit cost according to usual cost accounting

practices)16: Yes

− SME owner/natural person unit cost 17

: Yes

− volunteers cost 18

: not eligible under this invitation

Travel and subsistence unit cost 19

: Yes20

Equipment costs: full cost

The costs of purchasing, developing, and/or operating new response capacities in a

disaster situation are not eligible.

Indirect costs flat rate: 7% of the eligible direct costs (categories A-D, except

volunteers costs and exempted specific cost categories, if any).

The indirect costs are commonly known as overheads. These are costs that cannot be

identified as specific costs directly linked to the project and so booked to it directly.

They cover general indirect costs you incur in implementing the project, typically:

• general rental costs or depreciation of buildings and equipment

• telecommunication and postal fees

• water, gas, electricity, heating, etc.

• office furniture

• supplies and petty office equipment

• insurance

• costs connected with support services, such as administrative and financial

management, human resources, training, documentation, IT, etc.

VAT: VAT is not eligible

Costs for financial support to third parties are not allowed.

In-kind contributions for free are allowed, but cost-neutral, i.e. they cannot be declared

as cost.

Visibility, communication: costs linked to the visibility of the project are eligible

(stickers, patches etc.); costs for presenting the project on the participants’ websites

or social media accounts are eligible but costs for separate project websites are not

eligible.

16 Decision of 19 March 2025 authorising the use of unit costs based on usual cost accounting practices for

actions under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism Programme. 17 Commission Decision of 20 October 2020 authorising the use of unit costs for the personnel costs of the

owners of small and medium-sized enterprises and beneficiaries that are natural persons not receiving a salary for the work carried out by themselves under an action or work programme (C(2020)7115), as amended by Commission Decision C(2024) 5328 final of 30.7.2024).

18 Commission Decision of 10 April 2019 authorising the use of unit costs for declaring personnel costs for the work carried out by volunteers under an action or a work programme (C(2019)2646).

19 Commission Decision of 31.7.2024 amending Commission Decision C(2021)35 authorising the use of unit costs for travel, accommodation and subsistence costs under an action or work programme under the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework

20 See EU Grants AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 6 on eligible costs: travel and subsistence costs

must be declared using the unit cost according to Annex 2a of the grant agreement. If a particular instance of travel, accommodation or subsistence in the action is not covered by one of the unit costs mentioned in Decision C(2021)35 the actual costs may be used.

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10.5 Reporting and payment arrangements

The reporting and payment arrangements are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data

Sheet, point 4 and art 21 and 22).

After grant signature, you will normally receive a pre-financing corresponding to 70%

of the maximum grant amount to start working on the project. The pre-financing will

be paid 30 days from entry into force of the grant agreement or of the financial

guarantee (if required) — whichever is the latest.

There will be no additional pre-financing payments linked to a pre-financing report.

In addition, you will be expected to submit one or more progress reports not linked to

payments.

Payment of the balance: At the end of the project, we will calculate your final grant

amount. If the total of earlier payments is higher than the final grant amount, we will

ask you (your coordinator) to pay back the difference (recovery).

All payments will be made to the coordinator.

Please be aware that payments will be automatically lowered if one of your

consortium members has outstanding debts towards the EU (granting authority or other

EU bodies). Such debts will be offset by us — in line with the conditions set out in the

Grant Agreement (see art 22).

Please also note that you are responsible for keeping records on all the work done and

the costs declared.

10.6 Pre-financing guarantees

If a prefinancing guarantee is required, it will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data

Sheet, point 4). The amount will be set during grant preparation, and it will normally

be equal or lower than the prefinancing for your grant.

The guarantee should be in euro and issued by an approved bank/financial institution

established in an EU Member State. If you are established in a non-EU country and

would like to provide a guarantee from a bank/financial institution in your country,

please contact us (this may be exceptionally accepted, if it offers equivalent security).

Amounts blocked in bank accounts will NOT be accepted as financial guarantees.

Prefinancing guarantees are normally requested from the coordinator, for the

consortium. They must be provided during grant preparation, in time to make the

prefinancing (scanned copy via Portal AND original by post).

If agreed with us, the bank guarantee may be replaced by a guarantee from a third

party.

The guarantee will be released at the end of the grant, in accordance with the conditions

laid down in the Grant Agreement (art 23).

10.7 Certificates

Depending on the type of action, size of grant amount and type of beneficiaries, you

may be requested to submit different certificates. The types, schedules and thresholds

for each certificate are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 4 and art 24).

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A Certificate of Financial statements (CFS) must be provided for each beneficiary and

affiliated entity when the requested EU contribution at interim or final payment is

EUR 325 000 or more.

10.8 Liability regime for recoveries

The liability regime for recoveries will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet

point 4.4 and art 22).

For beneficiaries, it is one of the following:

− limited joint and several liability with individual ceilings — each beneficiary up

to their maximum grant amount

− unconditional joint and several liability — each beneficiary up to the maximum

grant amount for the action

or

− individual financial responsibility — each beneficiary only for their own debts.

In addition, the granting authority may require joint and several liability of affiliated

entities (with their beneficiary).

10.9 Provisions concerning the project implementation

Security rules: see Model Grant Agreement (art 13 and Annex 5)

Intellectual property rights (IPR) rules: see Model Grant Agreement (art 16 and Annex

5):

− rights of use on results: Yes

Communication, dissemination and visibility of funding: see Model Grant Agreement

(art 17 and Annex 5):

− additional communication and dissemination activities: Yes

− limited communication and visibility to protect persons involved: Yes

− visibility in field operations outside the EU: Yes

Specific rules for carrying out the action: see Model Grant Agreement (art 18 and Annex

5):

− zero tolerance: Yes

− transfer of assets at the end of the action: No

− EU restrictive measures: Yes

10.10 Non-compliance and breach of contract

The Grant Agreement (chapter 5) provides for the measures we may take in case of

breach of contract (and other non-compliance issues).

For more information, see AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.

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11 How to submit an application

All proposals must be submitted directly online via the Funding & Tenders Portal

Electronic Submission System. Paper applications are NOT accepted.

Submission is a 2-step process:

a) create a user account and register your organisation

To use the Submission System (the only way to apply), all participants need to create

an EU Login user account.

Once you have an EULogin account, you can register your organisation in the Participant

Register. When your registration is finalised, you will receive a 9-digit participant

identification code (PIC).

b) submit the proposal

Access the Electronic Submission System through the following link provided in the

invitation letter:

Submit your proposal in 3 parts, as follows:

− Part A includes administrative information about the applicant organisations

(future coordinator, beneficiaries, affiliated entities and associated partners)

and the summarised budget for the proposal. Fill it in directly online.

− Part B (description of the action) covers the technical content of the proposal.

Download the mandatory word template from the Submission System, fill it in

and upload it as a PDF file.

− Annexes (see section 5 of this document). Upload them as PDF file (single or

multiple depending on the slots). Excel upload is sometimes possible, depending

on the file type.

The project acronym should follow the structure (max 20 characters):

ECPP-2026-country code-capacity acronym.

The proposal must keep to the page limits (see section 5); excess pages will be

disregarded.

Documents must be uploaded to the right category in the Submission System

otherwise the proposal might be considered incomplete and thus inadmissible.

The proposal must be submitted before the call deadline (see section 4). After this

deadline, the system is closed and proposals can no longer be submitted.

Once the proposal is submitted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail (with date and

time of your application). If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail, it means your

proposal has NOT been submitted. If you believe this is due to a fault in the Submission

System, you should immediately file a complaint via the IT Helpdesk webform,

explaining the circumstances and attaching a copy of the proposal (and, if possible,

screenshots to show what happened).

Details on processes and procedures are described in the Online Manual. The Online

Manual also contains the links to FAQs and detailed instructions regarding the Portal

Electronic Exchange System.

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12 Help

As far as possible, please try to find the answers you need yourself, in this and

the other documentation (we have limited resources for handling direct enquiries):

− Online Manual

− Portal FAQ (for general questions).

For invitations, we will contact you directly in case of a call update.

Contact

For individual questions on the Portal Submission System, please contact the IT

Helpdesk.

Non-IT related questions should be sent to the following email address: ECHO-

[email protected]

Please:

− send your questions at the latest 7 days before the submission deadline (see

section 4)

− indicate clearly the reference of the call and title of the topic to which your

question relates (see cover page).

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13 Important

IMPORTANT

• Don’t wait until the end — Complete your application sufficiently in advance of the deadline to avoid any last minute technical problems. Problems due to last minute submissions (e.g. congestion, etc.) will be entirely at your risk. Call deadlines can NOT

be extended.

• Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Exchange System — By submitting the application, all participants accept to use the electronic exchange system in accordance with the Portal Terms & Conditions.

• Registration — Before submitting the application, all beneficiaries, affiliated entities

and associated partners must be registered in the Participant Register. The participant identification code (PIC) (one per participant) is mandatory for the Application Form.

• Consortium roles — When setting up your consortium, you should think of

organisations that help you reach objectives and solve problems.

The roles should be attributed according to the level of participation in the project. Main participants should participate as beneficiaries or affiliated entities; other entities can participate as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions. Associated partners and third parties giving in-kind contributions should bear their own costs (they will not become formal recipients of EU funding). Subcontracting should normally constitute a limited part and must be performed by

third parties (not by one of the beneficiaries/affiliated entities). Subcontracting going beyond 30% of the total eligible costs must be justified in the application.

• Coordinator — In multi-beneficiary grants, the beneficiaries participate as consortium

(group of beneficiaries). They will have to choose a coordinator, who will take care of the project management and coordination and will represent the consortium towards the granting authority. In mono-beneficiary grants, the single beneficiary will automatically be coordinator.

• Affiliated entities — Applicants may participate with affiliated entities (i.e. entities linked to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations as the beneficiaries, but do not sign the grant and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves). They will get a part of the grant money and must therefore comply with

all the call conditions and be validated (just like beneficiaries); but they do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for consortium composition (if any). If affiliated entities participate in your project, please do not forget to provide documents demonstrating their affiliation link to your organisation as part of your application.

• Associated partners — Applicants may participate with associated partners (i.e.

partner organisations which participate in the action but without the right to get grant money). They participate without funding and therefore do not need to be validated.

• Consortium agreement — For practical and legal reasons it is recommended to set up internal arrangements that allow you to deal with exceptional or unforeseen

circumstances (in all cases, even if not mandatory under the Grant Agreement). The consortium agreement also gives you the possibility to redistribute the grant money according to your own consortium-internal principles and parameters (for instance, one beneficiary can reattribute its grant money to another beneficiary). The consortium agreement thus allows you to customise the EU grant to the needs inside your consortium and can also help to protect you in case of disputes.

• Balanced project budget— Grant applications must ensure a balanced project budget and sufficient other resources to implement the project successfully (e.g. own contributions, income generated by the action, financial contributions from third

parties, etc.). You may be requested to lower your estimated costs, if they are ineligible (including excessive).

• Completed/ongoing projects — Proposals for projects that have already been completed will be rejected; proposals for projects that have already started will be

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assessed on a case-by-case basis (in this case, no costs can be reimbursed for activities that took place before the project starting date/proposal submission).

• No-profit rule — Grants may NOT give a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs). This will be checked by us at the end of the project.

• No cumulation of funding/no double funding — It is strictly prohibited to cumulate

funding from the EU budget (except under ‘EU Synergies actions’). Outside such Synergies actions, any given action may receive only ONE grant from the EU budget and cost items may under NO circumstances be declared under two EU grants; projects must be designed as different actions, clearly delineated and separated for each grant (without overlaps).

• Combination with EU operating grants — Combination with EU operating grants is possible, if the project remains outside the operating grant work programme and you

make sure that cost items are clearly separated in your accounting and NOT declared twice (see AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, art 6.2.E).

• Multiple proposals — Applicants may submit more than one proposal for different projects under the same call (and be awarded a funding for them).

Organisations may participate in several proposals.

BUT: if there are several proposals for very similar projects, only one application will be accepted and evaluated; the applicants will be asked to withdraw one of them (or it will be rejected).

• Resubmission — Proposals may be changed and re-submitted until the deadline for submission.

• Rejection — By submitting the application, all applicants accept the call conditions set

out in this Call Document (and the documents it refers to). Proposals that do not comply with all the call conditions will be rejected. This applies also to applicants: All applicants need to fulfil the criteria; if any one of them doesn’t, they must be replaced or the entire proposal will be rejected.

• Cancellation — There may be circumstances which may require the cancellation of the call. In this case, you will be informed via a call or topic update. Please note that

cancellations are without entitlement to compensation.

• Language — You can submit your proposal in any official EU language (project abstract/summary should however always be in English). For reasons of efficiency, we strongly advise you to use English for the entire application. If you need the call documentation in another official EU language, please submit a request within 10 days after call publication (for the contact information, see section 12).

• Transparency — In accordance with Article 38 of the EU Financial Regulation, information about EU grants awarded is published each year on the Europa website.

This includes:

o beneficiary names

o beneficiary addresses

o the purpose for which the grant was awarded

o the maximum amount awarded.

The publication can exceptionally be waived (on reasoned and duly substantiated

request), if there is a risk that the disclosure could jeopardise your rights and freedoms under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights or harm your commercial interests.

• Data protection — The submission of a proposal under this call involves the collection,

use and processing of personal data. This data will be processed in accordance with the

applicable legal framework. It will be processed solely for the purpose of evaluating your proposal, subsequent management of your grant and, if needed, programme monitoring, evaluation and communication. Details are explained in the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

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Annex I - Rules for use of equipment procured under adaptation grants

The applicant confirms to comply with the following rules for use of the equipment

procured under adaptation grants at the end of the action:

(a) The beneficiary shall use the equipment until the end of the equipment's useful

economic lifespan, namely until it has been fully depreciated in accordance with the

usual accounting practices of the beneficiary determined according to the applicable

national and international accounting standards. During the registration period of the

response capacity to the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP), the beneficiary shall

use the equipment as part of the response capacity for which it has been purchased in

deployments under the ECPP. Where the useful economic lifespan of the equipment

exceeds the registration period in the ECPP, the beneficiary commits to use the

equipment for the benefit of civil protection operations. At the end of the grant

agreement, the beneficiary shall submit to the Commission with the final report

information on the use of the equipment and its remaining useful economic lifespan.

(b) If the use of equipment in accordance with paragraph (a) is not possible or

appropriate, the beneficiary may donate the equipment to authorities and non-profit

organisations in the country of intervention, on the basis of a cost-efficiency analysis

and on the basis of a clear needs assessment. Under no circumstances may the

equipment be donated to for-profit entities. If the equipment has been donated during

the implementation period of the grant agreement, the beneficiary shall submit to the

Commission, with the final report, information on the donation. This shall include

information on the equipment donated, the recipients of the donation, and the

information on the cost-efficiency analysis and needs assessment. In the event of

technical and financial checks and audits carried out pursuant to Article 25 of the grant

agreement, the beneficiary shall make available to the Commission or competent bodies

of the Union all documents relevant to the donation, in particular the donation

certificates. Costs of equipment replacing the donated equipment shall not be eligible

under any future adaptation grants for the response capacity.

Annex II – Commitment letter (model)

Annex III – Average costs of developing the capacities

Annex IV – Application form to ECPP

Annex V – Factsheet (template)

Annex VI – ECPP goals and gaps

Electronically signed on 08/12/2025 12:00 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

[National civil protection authority of country X]

The Director General (or any other authorised person)

Place and date

Mr Maciej Popowski Director General DG ECHO 1049 Brussels Belgium

Dear Director General,

Complementing our application for an adaptation grant, I am pleased to inform you that NAME OF COUNTRY commits NAME of Capacity/ies to the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP), on the proviso this response capacity is awarded the adaptation grant.

In line with Article 2 of the Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1310, the duration of the commitment is [please select: 3 years for capacities receiving up to EUR 300 000 of financial support; 5 years for capacities receiving from EUR 300 001 up to EUR 1 000 000 of financial support;7 years for capacities receiving from EUR 1 000 001 up to EUR 2 000 000 of financial support], starting from the effective availability of the capacity to the ECPP, i.e. after completing the certification procedure / as shown in CECIS.

Signature

ANNEX III: ESTIMATED AVERAGE COST OF DEVELOPING A CAPACITY - OVERVIEW OF THE RANGE OF CAPACITIES DEVELOPMENT COSTS (1)(2)

Response capacity Equipment costs Staff costs Training costs Lowest Highest

Total 50% of

average

High Capacity Pumping 680,000 - 2,449,000 600 - 6,300 45,000 - 75,000 725.000,00 2.530.000,00 1.059.583,88

Water Purification 222,000 - 512,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 238.000,00 543.000,00 254.235,03

Medium Urban Search and Rescue 883,000 -1,564,000 8,800 - 94,000 387,000 - 645,000 1.279.000,00 2.304.000,00 1.166.356,08

Heavy Urban Search and Rescu 922,000 -2,792,000 15,000 - 157,000 645,000 - 1,076,000 1.582.000,00 4.025.000,00 1.825.218,68

Aerial forest firefighting using helicopters 2,262,000 -12,669,000 600 - 6,300 38,000 - 63,000 2.300.000,00 12.738.000,00 4.895.244,95

Aerial forest firefighting using planes 7,232,000 -15,266,000 600 - 6,300 42,000 - 70,000 7.275.000,00 15.344.000,00 7.363.049,98

Advanced medical post (EMT1) 2,568,000 - 2,927,000 8,800 - 94,000 189,000 - 315,000 2.766.000,00 3.335.000,00 1.986.028,03

Advanced medical post with Surgery (EMT2) 5,069,000 -5,120,000 8,800 - 94,000 148,000 - 246,000 5.225.000,00 5.460.000,00 3.478.234,63

Field Hospital (EMT3) 5,121,000 -6,756,000 8,800 - 94,000 321,000 - 535,000 5.451.000,00 7.386.000,00 4.178.764,43

Medical aerial evacuation of disaster victims 3,865,000 -18,365,000 8,800 - 94,000 52,000 - 86,000 3.925.000,00 18.546.000,00 7.314.872,28

Emergency Temporary Camp 365,000 - 394,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 380.000,00 425.000,00 262.047,63

CBRN detection and sampling 1,236,000 - 1,291,000 600 - 6,300 100,000 - 167,000 1.337.000,00 1.464.000,00 911.795,53

Urban Search and Rescue under CBRN

conditions 1,634,000 -2,673,000 8,300 - 88,000 736,000 - 1,226,000 2.378.000,00 3.987.000,00 2.071.966,63

Ground Forest Fire-Fighting 2,490,000 -2,519,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 2.505.000,00 2.550.000,00 1.645.528,88

Ground Forest Fire-Fighting using Vehicles 2,750,000 -10,047,000 1,800 - 19,000 15,000 - 25,000 2.766.000,00 10.090.000,00 4.184.949,40

Flood Containment 2,444,000 -3,503,000 600 - 6,300 81,000 - 134,000 2.525.000,00 3.644.000,00 2.008.163,73

Flood rescue using boats 1,821,000 -1,879,000 600 - 6,300 126,000 - 210,000 1.948.000,00 2.095.000,00 1.316.097,58

TAST 315,000 - 1,067,000 600 - 6,300 33,000 - 56,000 348.000,00 1.129.000,00 480.800,43

Teams for maritime incident response 366,000 - 433,000 600 - 6,300 138,000 - 230,000 505.000,00 670.000,00 382.491,88

Structural engineering teams, to carry out

damage and safety assessments, appraisal of

buildings to be demolished/repaired,

assessment of infrastructure, short-term

shoring 54,000 - 108,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 69.000,00 139.000,00 67.709,20

Evacuation support: including teams for

information management and logistics 83,000 - 108,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 99.000,00 139.000,00 77.474,95

Fire-fighting: advisory/assessment teams 14,200 - 63,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 30.000,00 94.000,00 40.365,10

CBRN decontamination teams 633,000 - 739,000 600 - 6,300 119,000 - 198,000 752.000,00 943.000,00 551.764,88

Mobile laboratories for environmental

agencies 304,000 - 322,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 319.000,00 353.000,00 218.752,80

Communication teams or platforms to quickly

re-establish communications in remote areas 62,000 - 181,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 78.000,00 212.000,00 94.402,25

Medical evacuation jets air ambulance and

medical evacuation helicopter separately for

inside Europe or worldwide 5,658,000 - 11,319,000 600 - 6,300 59,000 - 98,000 5.717.000,00 11.423.000,00 5.579.498,50

Additional shelter capacity: units for 250

persons (50 tents); incl. self-sufficiency unit

for the handling staff 55,000 - 512,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 71.000,00 543.000,00 199.872,35

Additional capacity shelter-kit: units for 2500

persons (500 tarpaulins); with toolkit possibly

to be procured locally 553,000 -5,117,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 568.000,00 5.149.000,00 1.861.026,43

Water pumps with minimum capacity to

pump, 800 l/min 800 - 1,000 600 - 6,300 15,000 - 25,000 16.000,00 32.000,00 15.625,20

(1): Source: Adapted from the draft report on the costs of developing Participating States' response capacities, 29 June 2015, ICF Consulting Services

(2): prices updated considering the inflation (Eurostat Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) - annual data)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) ECHO.A - Emergency Management and rescEU A.2 - Capacities and Operational Support

Template for application to register a module, technical

assistance and support team, or other response capacity

in the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP)1

N.B. Text in blue represents explanation on the contents expected to be filled in, and should be deleted

when filling in the application.

1. Country (-ries) offering the module, technical assistance and support team (TAST), other

response capacity and the full name of the authority (-ies) endorsing this offer:

For modules, TAST or other response capacities put forward by more than one country on a

rotation basis: please add confirmation of the fact that all countries involved support this

application.

2. Type of module, TAST or other response capacity:

For module or TAST, please refer to the titles used in Annex II of the Implementing Rules

Decision; for other response capacities, please refer to the titles used in Annex III of the

Implementing Rules Decision – where available

3. Self-assessment establishing that the asset fulfils the quality requirements established for

this type of asset: for modules or TAST please fill in the table below (drawn up on the basis

of the quality requirements set out in Annex II of the Implementing Rules Decision); for

other response capacities please fill in the table with the relevant information for each field

(i.e. tasks, capacities, main components, self-sufficiency, deployment).

For offers put forward by more than one country (i.e. modules being available on a rotation

basis), please fill in one table for each of the modules included in the arrangement.

Tasks Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not

fulfil the provisions of Annex II)

Comments/Complementary

info (if any)

Capacities Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not

fulfil the provisions of Annex II)

Comments/Complementary

info (if any)

Main components Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not

fulfil the provisions of Annex II)

Comments/Complementary

info (if any)

Self-sufficiency Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not

fulfil the provisions of Annex II)

Comments/Complementary

info (if any)

Deployment Yes / No (the module fulfils/does not Comments/Complementary

1 This application shall be submitted as attachment to a letter of commitment of the asset to the ECPP,

addressed in writing DG ECHO, Rue de la Loi 86, 1049, Brussels. The application does not need to be

signed, in view of the letter being signed at the appropriate level in the Participating States'

administration.

2

fulfil the provisions of Annex II) info (if any)

4. Factsheet of the module, including technical assistance and support team, other response

capacity: Please attach or copy below the CECIS factsheet filled-in, for each of the modules

offered, in case of modules offered by more than one country (see CECIS for the updated

templates for factsheets).

5. Confirmation of necessary arrangements put in place to ensure the relevant authority and

national contact points are continuously capable to handle without delay requests for

deployment with regard to their assets registered in the ECPP. Please confirm that these

arrangements have been put into place and, to the extent possible, provide explanation on

these arrangements.

For modules offered by more than one country, it is recommended to appoint a single point

of contact for the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) and put in place

arrangements allowing this single point of contact to convey the request to the module on

stand-by.

6. Confirmation that all necessary measures have been taken, including the necessary financing

and logistical arrangements, to ensure that the asset registered in the ECPP can be deployed

immediately following an invitation to deploy by the Commission.

Please confirm that the necessary arrangements have been put in place to finance any costs

related to the deployment and operation of the asset2, in order to allow for an availability of

departure of maximum 12 hours after the acceptance of the offer – see point 8 below (for all

assets concerned – if the asset is available on a rotation basis).

A description of the measures taken with respect to logistical arrangements should also be

provided. These arrangements could include: agreements with airline companies (for assets

that can be transported by air) or reliance on the Commission's transport contractor / broker,

ad-hoc arrangements, etc. (for all assets concerned – if the asset is available on a rotation

basis).

7. Exact duration of the pre-commitment in the ECPP [minimum one year, maximum three

years] from the moment it is certified. It should be accompanied by an official

correspondence from the national CP authority to the Director General of DG ECHO.

8. Information on the guaranteed time of availability for departure [maximum 12 hours after

the acceptance of the offer]: …

9. The geographic location of the asset, the indicative location of mobilisation (airport etc.),

the normal geographic scope of deployment, as well as geographic restrictions, if any.

This should be indicated for each of the modules, in case of modules put forward by more

than one country on a rotation basis.

2 The amount of Union financial assistance for capacities pre- committed to the European Civil Protection

Pool shall not exceed 75 % of the costs of operating the capacities, including transport, in the event of

a disaster or imminent disaster inside or outside the Union (art. 23.2. of REGULATION 2021/836

amending the Decision 1313/2013/EU)

3

10. Standard Operating Procedures of the module, including technical assistance and support

team, or other response capacity.

The SOPs of the module (available in English) should be attached to this application as such.

They have to be in line with the available Modules SOPs Guidelines developed under the

Union Civil Protection Mechanism (the guidelines can be downloaded from CECIS).

11. All relevant transport handling information, such as measures, weights, flight restrictions

etc., preferred modes of transport; if relevant: access to harbours.

12. Any other restrictions or advantages of the module, TAST or response asset (i.e. climate

related information) and other foreseeable conditions of deployment (i.e. type of fuel).

13. "Experience File", including the following:

a) summaries of previous deployments of the module, TAST, or other response capacity

– focus on recent emergencies (last 3-5 years), and provide information on the type

of emergency, the mission duration, number of personnel deployed, final output;

b) participation in the UCPM exercises or international exercises;

c) training of key personnel (Team Leader, Deputy Team Leader, Liaison Officer)

through the UCPM, UN or international relevant training;

d) participation of key personnel in UCPM exercises or international exercises;

e) compliance with international standards where relevant (e.g. INSARAG, WHO,

IFRC etc.).

In case of modules, TAST or other response capacity, put forward by more than one country

on a rotation basis, this should be indicated for each of the modules.

14. A self-assessment of adaptation needs and associated costs: a first indication should be

given in this application of the adaptation costs and the associated timeline, according to the

information available. A separate grant request will have to be made for adaptation costs,

during the certification phase.

15. All necessary contact information.

a) Contact person for clarification questions that the Commission may have during the

preliminary check and during the certification and registration procedure.

b) Single operational contact point (24/7) for the ERCC – to be used for communication

related to specific deployments.

European Commission

Union Civil Protection Mechanism Factsheet for [TYPE OF CAPACITY]

[version / date]

G en

er a

l In

fo rm

a ti

o n

1.1 Country/countries

1.2 Code/Capacity type/number ……/………/……

1.3 Ready for departure (in hours)

1.4 Available time period

1.5 General information on the response

capacity / standards and guidelines /

main components

[for modules, please fill in to reflect the minimum

technical requirements, see Annex II of

Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/704.]

1.6 Contact details

1.7 Military personnel or equipment Yes / No

O p

er a ti

o n

a l

in fo

rm a

ti o

n

2.1 Deployment radius (in-outside EU)

2.2 Number of personnel

2.3 Number of vehicles

2.4 Weight of the equipment (kg)

2.5 Volume of the equipment (m3)

2.6 Operational readiness on site (in hours

from arrival)

2.7 Indicative location of departure

2.8 Transportation possibilities

(land/air/maritime)

2.9 Participation in exercises (national

and international)

Exercise:

From: to:

Tasks:

2.10 Participation in emergency response

operations

Emergency:

From: to:

Tasks:

2.11 Additional information

L o g

is ti

cs

3.1 Self sufficiency [for each self-sufficiency item – see article 12 of

Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/704, please

specify if self-sufficiency is reached through own

means or external support, including HNS]

3.2 Maintenance by requesting country

3.3 Average fuel consumption (per day)

3.4 Type of fuel

3.5 Need for in-country transportation If yes, number and type of vehicles:

3.6 Hazardous items

3.7 Specific logistic needs

3.8 Additional information

ANNEX VI: ECPP capacity gaps

HCP (High capacity pumping) 17 20 3 WP (Water purification) 7 6 -1 FC (Flood containment) 2 2 0 FRB (Flood rescue using boats) 5 2 -3 LIGHT USAR (Light urban search and rescue) 1 3 2 MUSAR (Medium urban search and rescue) 4 3 -1 MUSAR (Medium urban search and rescue) - in Cold Conditions 1 1 0 HUSAR (Heavy urban search and rescue) 11 4 -7 Mountain search and rescue 1 3 2 Cave search and rescue 2 3 1 FFFP (Aerial forest fire fighting module using planes) 2 2 0 FFFH (Aerial forest firefighting using helicopters) 0 2 2 GFFF (Ground forest fire fighting) 5 4 -1 GFFF-V (Ground forest fire fighting using vehicles) 15 15 0 CBRNDET (CBRN detection and sampling) 7 6 -1 CBRN Decontamination 1 2 1 CBRNUSAR (USAR in CBRN conditions) 0 2 2 MEDEVAC (Medical aerial evacuation of disaster victims) 0 2 2 MEDEVAC HID (Medical aerial evacuation of highly infectious diseases patients)

0 2 2

EMT type 1 fixed (Emergency medical team type 1 - fixed) 7 15 8 EMT type 1 mobile (Emergency medical team type 1 - mobile) 1 6 5 EMT type 1 fixed/mobile 1 -1 EMT type 2 (Emergency medical team type 2) 6 6 0 EMT type 3 (Emergency medical team type 3) 0 1 1 ES (Emergency shelter) 1 4 3 CHP (Cultural Heritage Protection) 0 2 2 EES (Emergency Energy supply) 0 2 2 T&L (Transport and logistics) 0 2 2 Bridges capacity 0 2 2 Costal and freshwater pollution response 0 2 2 TAST (Technical assistance and Support Team) 5 2 -3 TAST (Technical Assistance and Support Team for cold conditions) 1 -1 ORC: Burns Assessment Teams (BAT) 0 2 2 ORC: Transport and Logistics (non-aerial configurations) 0 2 2 ORC: Pollution detection (at-sea, shoreline, inland) 0 2 2 ORC: Shoreline and inland pollution response (on-land pollution recovery, waste management and oiled wildlife response) 1 2 1 ORC: WSAR (Teams for water search and rescue) 1 2 1

Registered Capacity

goal Capacity

gap

ORC: Teams with specialized search and rescue equipment, e.g. search robots 0 2 2

ORC: Teams for maritime incident response (MIRG) 1 2 1 ORC: Structural engineering teams 1 2 1 ORC: Evacuation support: including teams for information management and logistics

1 2 1

ORC: Fire-fighting: advisory/ assessment Teams 1 2 1 ORC: Mobile laboratories for environmental emergencies 1 2 1 ORC: Communication team or platforms to quickly re-establish communications in remote areas

2 2 0

ORC: Medical Evacuation Jets Air Ambulance and Medical Evacuation Helicopter

0 2 2

ORC: Additional Shelter Capacity: units for 250 persons (50 tents) 0 ORC: Additional Capacity Shelter-kit: units for 2 500 persons (500 tarpaulins); with toolkit possibly to be procured locally

0

ORC: Water pumps with minimum capacity to pump 800 l/min 0 ORC: Power generators of 5-150 kW 0 ORC: Power generators above 150 kW 0 ORC: At-sea pollution response (offshore, heavy equipment, recovery vessels)

0 2 2

ORC: Emergency medical teams for specialised care 0 8 8 ORC: Mobile biosafety laboratories 1 4 3 ORC: Standing Engineering Capacity 0 2 2 ORC: Other response capacities necessary to address identified risks 0 ORC: Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) 3 2 -1 ORC: Relief items and other types of in-kind assistance 1

117 172 55

Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM)

Invitation to submit a proposal

European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants

(UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA)

Version 1.0 08 December 2025

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INVITATION TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3 1. Background .......................................................................................................... 4 2. Objectives — Themes and priorities - Expected outcomes .................................... 5

2.1 Objectives ..................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Priorities and themes ...................................................................................... 5 2.3 Expected outcomes ......................................................................................... 6

3 Available budget ................................................................................................... 6 4 Timetable and deadlines ....................................................................................... 7 5 Admissibility and documents ................................................................................ 7 6 Eligibility .............................................................................................................. 9

6.1 Eligible participants (eligible countries) ............................................................. 9 6.2 Consortium composition ................................................................................ 10 6.3 Eligible activities ........................................................................................... 10 6.4 Ineligible activities ........................................................................................ 11 6.5 Geographic location (target countries)............................................................. 11

7 Financial and operational capacity and exclusion ............................................... 13 7.1 Financial capacity ......................................................................................... 13 7.2 Operational capacity ..................................................................................... 13 7.3 Exclusion ..................................................................................................... 14

8 Evaluation and award procedure ........................................................................ 15 9 Award criteria ..................................................................................................... 16 10 Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements ........................................... 18

10.1 Starting date and project duration .................................................................. 18 10.2 Milestones and deliverables ........................................................................... 18 10.3 Form of grant, funding rate and maximum grant amount .................................. 18 10.4 Budget categories and cost eligibility rules ....................................................... 19 10.5 Reporting and payment arrangements ............................................................ 21 10.6 Pre-financing guarantees ............................................................................... 21 10.7 Certificates .................................................................................................. 21 10.8 Liability regime for recoveries ........................................................................ 22 10.9 Provisions concerning the project implementation ............................................. 22 10.10 Non-compliance and breach of contract ........................................................... 22

11 How to submit an application ............................................................................. 23 12 Help .................................................................................................................... 24 13 Important ........................................................................................................... 25 Annex I - Rules for use of equipment procured under adaptation grants ................... 27 Annex II – Commitment letter (model) ..................................................................... 27 Annex III – Average costs of developing the capacities ............................................ 27 Annex IV – Application form to ECPP ......................................................................... 27 Annex V – Factsheet (template) ................................................................................ 27 Annex VI – ECPP goals and gaps ............................................................................... 27

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Emergency Response Coordination Centre Civil Protection Emergency Response Capabilities

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Introduction

This is an invitation to submit proposals for EU grants in the field of prevention and

preparedness projects on civil protection and more specifically adaptation grants, in the

field of the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP, the Pool) under the Union Civil

Protection Mechanism (UCPM).

The regulatory framework for this EU Funding Programme is set out in:

− Regulation 2024/2509 (EU Financial Regulation1)

− the basic act (UCPM Decision 1313/20132)

− Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/7043

The invitation is launched in accordance with the UCPM Multi-Annual Work Programme

2021-20274 and will be managed by the European Commission, Directorate-

General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG

ECHO).

The invitation covers the following topic:

UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC— European Civil Protection Pool Upgrade

and/or repair of ECPP response capacities

We invite you to read the documentation carefully, and in particular the present

document, the Model Grant Agreement, the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual

and the EU Grants AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.

These documents provide clarifications and answers to questions you may have when

preparing your application:

− the present document outlines the:

− background, objectives, scope, activities that can be funded and the

expected results (sections 1 and 2)

− available budget and timetable (sections 3 and 4)

− admissibility and eligibility conditions (including mandatory documents;

sections 5 and 6)

− criteria for financial and operational capacity and exclusion (section 7)

− evaluation and award procedure (section 8)

− award criteria (section 9)

− legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements (section 10)

1 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024

on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast) (‘EU Financial Regulation’) (OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024).

2 Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 924).

3 Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/704 of 10 April 2025 laying down rules for the implementation of Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism and repealing Commission Decisions 2014/762/EU and (EU) 2019/1310 (notified under document C(2025) 2130)

4 COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 17.10.2025 on the financing of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and adopting a multiannual work programme for 2021-2027, repealing and replacing Implementing Decision C(2024) 7235

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− how to submit an application (section 11)

− the Online Manual outlines the:

− procedures to register and submit proposals online via the EU Funding &

Tenders Portal (‘Portal’)

− recommendations for the preparation of the application

− the AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement contains:

− detailed annotations on all the provisions in the Grant Agreement you

will have to sign in order to obtain the grant (including cost eligibility,

payment schedule, accessory obligations, etc.).

1. Background

The Union Civil Protection Mechanism ('the Union Mechanism') governed by Decision

No 1313/2013/EU (hereafter 'Decision No 1313/2013/EU’), strengthens cooperation

between the Union and the Member States and facilitates coordination in the field of

civil protection to improve the Union's response to natural and human-induced

disasters.

NB: In the present document, wherever a reference is made to ‘Member State’ it should

be understood as referring to both EU Member States and UCPM Participating States5.

Article 11 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU defines the legal framework of the European

Civil Protection Pool (‘ECPP’). The ECPP consists of a pool of voluntarily pre-committed

response capacities of the Member States and includes modules, Technical Assistance

and Support Teams (TAST), other response capacities (ORCs) and categories of

experts.

Article 21(2)(c) of Decision No 1313/2013 sets out the eligibility of actions for financial

assistance, for the adaptation of Member States' response capacities to a state of

readiness and availability that makes them deployable as part of the European Civil

Protection Pool”.

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/704 hereafter referred to as ‘the

Implementing Decision’, defines the rules for setting up the ECPP. In particular,

chapters 4 and 5, and Annexes II, III and V, are relevant for the implementation of the

ECPP and the related financing of adaptation costs.

Obligation to commit the capacity to the ECPP when an adaptation grant is granted:

In accordance with Article 19 of the Implementing Decision, a Member State receiving

Union financial support for the adaptation of a response capacity shall commit the latter

to the Pool for a minimum period depending on the total amount of funding received.

The minimum period will be determined as follows, starting from the effective

availability of the capacity to the Pool (i.e. after successful completion of the

certification):

• 3 years for capacities receiving up to EUR 300 000 of financial support;

5 Currently, 37 states - the 27 EU Member States and Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Iceland, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia,

Türkiye and Ukraine - are participating in the UCPM.

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• 5 years for capacities receiving from EUR 300 001 up to EUR 1 000 000 of

financial support;

• 7 years for capacities receiving from EUR 1 000 001 up to EUR 2 000 000 of

financial support;

• 10 years for capacities receiving more than EUR 2 000 000 of financial support.

2. Objectives — Themes and priorities - Expected outcomes

UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC— European Civil Protection Pool Upgrade and/or repair of ECPP

response capacities

2.1 Objectives

The objective of the adaptation grant is to upgrade and/or repair Member States'

response capacities to a state of readiness and availability that makes them deployable

as part of the ECPP.

An upgrade or repair grant can be requested:

1) as the result of an ongoing or completed certification process (in particular to address

recommendations made at any stage of this process). If required by Article 19 of the

Implementing Decision (see above) an official letter to extend the commitment period

in the ECPP must be attached to the grant application (Annex II).

2) before the ECPP certification has started. In this case, the application can only be

accepted for evaluation provided that an official letter to commit the capacity in the

ECPP signed by the responsible national Civil Protection Authority is attached to the

grant application, in line with Article 2 of the Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/13 (see

Annex II).

Definition of repair: to put something that is damaged, broken, or not working correctly,

back into good condition or make it work again. Repair activities may involve replacing

faulty parts, fixing defects, and conducting testing to ensure that the asset functions

correctly.

2.2 Priorities and themes

To contribute to achieving the above general objectives, applicants should, where

relevant, focus on the following priorities and themes:

i) All capacities (modules, TAST and ORCs are eligible. Applications for response

capacities for which there is a proven capacity gap (see annex VI) will be scored

higher (see point 9).

ii) Applicants are encouraged to submit application for types of capacities for which the

capacity goals are not met – see Annex VI

iii) Applicants should identify and propose activities that can make the response

capacity:

- more digital, with the objective of enhancing its performance in UCPM deployments,

and

- greener, in particular through better waste management, higher energy or resource

efficiency and lower reliance on fossil fuels.

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iv) Applicants are encouraged to propose activities that help address gender inequalities

or differences and the needs of people living with disabilities.

v) Each application has to include dedicated communication activities to promote the

UCPM and the ECPP, and activities to enhance the EU visibility, in line with the EU

visibility and communication manual for civil protection. The minimum EU visibility

package must include:

- marking of all equipment procured with the EU logo + “Co-funded by the European

Union” (see the ”Communication and Visibility Manual for European Union-funded Civil

Protection Actions”),

- patches (model below) to be worn by all the staff members of the capacity,

- EU flags.

These visibility elements have to be systematically used in all UCPM deployments and

exercises.

Figure 1 Model of patch

2.3 Expected outcomes

- Increased ability of the EU to respond to disasters, through a strengthened disaster

preparedness in the UCPM area.

- ECPP capacities are geographically better distributed to allow for quick and effective

deployment to different risk prone areas.

- ECPP capacities are capable to intervene in more diverse operating conditions during

international deployments.

3 Available budget

The total indicative budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects under this direct

grant award is estimated at EUR 6 000 000.

We reserve the right not to award all available funds (depending on the proposals

received and the results of the evaluation) or to lower the available funding in case of

overriding public interests that necessitate a change of UCPM priorities.

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4 Timetable and deadlines

Timetable and deadlines

Opening: 09 December 2025

Deadline for submission: 10 March 2026 – 17:00:00 CET

(Brussels)

Evaluation (tentative): April-June 2026

Information on evaluation results

(tentative): June – July 2026

GA signature (tentative): September – October 2026

5 Admissibility and documents

Proposals must be submitted before the deadline (see timetable section 4).

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic

Submission System (accessible via the link in the invitation letter). Paper submissions

are NOT possible.

Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the

forms provided inside the Submission System and the DG ECHO website.

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required

annexes and supporting documents:

− Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the

participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the

summarised budget for the project

(to be filled in directly online)

− Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project

(mandatory word template to be downloaded from the Portal Submission

System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as PDF)

− Mandatory annexes and supporting documents (to be uploaded):

– Detailed budget table (mandatory excel template available in the

Electronic Submission System) to be submitted on the portal

– Activity reports of last year: not applicable to public authorities,

mandatory for private entities.

– List of previous EU-funded projects (key projects for the last 4 years)

(template available in Part B)

– Annex I to the present Invitation to submit a proposal - Rules for the use

of equipment procured under adaptation grants (applicants shall copy the

wording in Annex I to the present call document and attach it at the end

of the application form Part B before assembling and uploading as one

PDF file).

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− Letter of support (see template available with Part B) signed by the

Director General (DG) or any other authorized representative of the

competent national civil protection authority of each country that will

benefit from the action (except for participants which themselves are the

national authority).

– Commitment letter to the ECPP (where relevant) signed by the DG or any

other authorized representative of the competent national civil protection

authority of each country that will benefit from the action – please see

Annex II (for newly committed capacities, to be adapted as necessary in

other cases).

– For capacities new to the ECPP, completed application form (Annex IV),

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or equivalent (that demonstrate

that the response capacity already exists as a pre-defined arrangement

of human and material means that can be described in terms of capacity

for intervention and tasks) and factsheet (Annex V).

– For Emergency Medical Team (EMT) capacities, Expression of Interest to

World Health Organization (WHO) and, if available, the completed self-

assessment.

– For non-classified Light Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Medium USAR

and Heavy USAR teams, proof that the INSARAG6 process was launched

(e.g. official letter of application and assignment of mentor)

The Description of the Action and the annexes must be drafted in one of the EU official

languages. However, in order to facilitate the assessment by evaluators, applicants are

encouraged to submit their application in English.

Please note that the amounts entered into the summarised budget table (filled in

directly online) must correspond to the amounts calculated in the detailed budget table.

In case of discrepancies, the amounts in the online summarised budget table will

prevail.

At proposal submission, you will have to confirm that you have the mandate to act

for all applicants. Moreover, you will have to confirm that the information in the

application is correct and complete and that the participants comply with the conditions

for receiving EU funding (especially eligibility, financial and operational capacity,

exclusion, etc.). Before signing the grant, each beneficiary and affiliated entity will have

to confirm this again by signing a declaration of honour (DoH). Proposals without full

support will be rejected.

Your application must be readable, accessible and printable (please check carefully

the layout of the documents uploaded).

Proposals are limited to maximum 60 pages (Part B). Evaluators will not consider any

additional pages.

You may be asked at a later stage for further documents (for legal entity validation,

financial capacity check, bank account validation, etc.).

For more information about the submission process (including IT aspects), consult

the Online Manual.

6 International Search and Rescue Advisory Group

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6 Eligibility

6.1 Eligible participants (eligible countries)

Proposals may be submitted by Member States' national civil protection authorities or

other entities authorised by them (through a letter of support) to request and receive

financial support from the Commission.

To be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

− be legal entities (public or private bodies)

− be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:

• EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))

• UCPM Participating States: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland,

Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and

Ukraine.

Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register — before

submitting the proposal — and will have to be validated by the Central Validation

Service (REA Validation). For the validation, they will be requested to upload documents

showing legal status and origin.

Other entities may participate in other consortium roles, such as associated partners,

subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions, etc. (see section 13).

Specific cases and definitions

Natural persons — Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of self-

employed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality

separate from that of the natural person).

International organisations — International organisations are eligible. The rules on

eligible countries do not apply to them.

Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under

their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives

have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf and offer guarantees

for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal

persons7.

EU bodies can NOT be part of the consortium.

Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members may participate

as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’8. Please note that if

the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either as

beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).

Countries currently negotiating association agreements — Beneficiaries from countries

with ongoing negotiations for participation in the Union Mechanism may participate in

the call and can sign grants if the negotiations are concluded before grant signature

and if the association covers the call (i.e. is retroactive and covers both the part of the

programme and the year when the call was launched).

7 See Article 200(2)(c) EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509. 8 For the definitions, see Articles 190(2) and 200(2)(c) EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.

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EU restrictive measures — Special rules apply for entities subject to EU restrictive

measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215

of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)9. Such entities are not eligible to

participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated

partners, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).

EU conditionality measures — Special rules apply for entities subject to measures

adopted on the basis of EU Regulation 2020/209210. Such entities are not eligible to

participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors,

recipients of financial support to third parties, etc.). Currently such measures are in

place for Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of

2021 or any entity they maintain (see Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506,

as of 16 December 2022).

For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and

Financial Capacity Assessment.

6.2 Consortium composition

Applications by single applicants are allowed (single beneficiaries; affiliated entities and

other participants are allowed, if needed).

6.3 Eligible activities

Activities that can be funded (scope)

Below is an exhaustive list of activities for which the related costs may be considered

eligible for an adaptation grant, provided that the application demonstrates that

these activities specifically relate to the capacity's participation in UCPM

deployments. Please explain why and how the planned activities are specifically

needed for UCPM deployment, and are not instead part of the indispensable/core

equipment or activities required for domestic response:

• Activities contributing to improved autonomy and self-sufficiency of the

respective module, TAST or ORC,

• Activities contributing to a faster transportability, e.g. lighter equipment,

solutions to reduce volume by new containers and packaging equipment, EU

standardised pallets;

• Activities contributing to enhanced safety and security, e.g. personal protection

equipment or other personal equipment;

• Activities contributing to enhanced communication tools, e.g. satellite

communication equipment, Information and Communication Technologies

(ICT)equipment and relevant applications, radios;

• Activities contributing to interoperability and enhanced readiness for

deployment, e.g. training, including "train the trainers", in view of enlarging the roster

9 Please note that the EU Official Journal contains the official list and, in case of conflict, its content prevails

over that of the EU Sanctions Map. 10 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020

on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget (OJ L 325, 20.12.2022, p. 94).

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of staff, development and translation of SOPs, IT tools for registration of the staff on

roster, and individual internal team drills;

• Activities aiming to form multinational response capacities, e.g. workshops,

trainings, development of common methodologies or standards, common SOPs;

• Activities specifically related to the certification process that cannot be covered

by or are not undertaken as part of other EU-funded activities, e.g. obligatory training

courses that are not available under the UCPM training programme, exercises that are

not part of MODEX or other types of exercises co-financed by the UCPM;

• Project management activities, e.g. organisation of events, procurement,

capacity monitoring and review, reporting, financial management. Please make sure

that the costs of the project management activities do not exceed 20% of the total

costs of the project.

• Repair activities. Please refer to point 2.1 for the definition of repair.

Projects must comply with EU policy interests and priorities (such as environment,

social, security, industrial and trade policy, etc). Projects must also respect EU values

and European Commission policy regarding reputational matters (e.g. activities

involving capacity building, policy support, awareness raising, communication,

dissemination, etc).

In addition, please see section 2.2 (Priorities and themes).

6.4 Ineligible activities

The following activities are not considered as eligible for funding under this invitation:

− Activities related to the development of new capacities,

− Activities related to the maintenance of response capacities,

− Recurrent costs for activities that will have to be borne after the grant

implementation period,

− Activities covered by other EU-funded grants (e.g. under the WHO contribution

agreement - Support to the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative

(mentorship and classification process, standard setting and training support);

MODEX

− Project management activities costs exceeding 20% of the total costs of the

project.

Financial support to third parties is not allowed.

6.5 Geographic location (target countries)

Proposals must relate to activities taking place in the eligible countries (see above).

6.6 Security

Projects involving EU classified information must undergo security scrutiny to authorise

funding and may be made subject to specific security rules (detailed in a security

aspects letter (SAL) which is annexed to the Grant Agreement).

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These rules (governed by Decision 2015/44411 and its implementing rules and/or

national rules) provide for instance that:

− projects involving information classified TRES SECRET UE/EU TOP SECRET (or

equivalent) can NOT be funded

− classified information must be marked in accordance with the applicable security

instructions in the SAL

− information with classification levels CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or

above (and RESTREINT UE/ EU RESTRICTED, if required by national rules) may

be:

− created or accessed only on premises with facility security clearance

(FSC) from the competent national security authority (NSA), in

accordance with the national rules

− handled only in a secured area accredited by the competent NSA

− accessed and handled only by persons with valid personnel security

clearance (PSC) and a need-to-know

− at the end of the grant, the classified information must either be returned or

continue to be protected in accordance with the applicable rules

− action tasks involving EU classified information (EUCI) may be subcontracted

only with prior written approval from the granting authority and only to entities

established in an EU Member State or in a non-EU country with a security of

information agreement with the EU (or an administrative arrangement with the

Commission)

− disclosure of EUCI to third parties is subject to prior written approval from the

granting authority.

Please note that, depending on the type of activity, facility security clearance may have

to be provided before grant signature. The granting authority will assess the need for

clearance in each case and will establish their delivery date during grant preparation.

Please note that in no circumstances can we sign any grant agreement until at least

one of the beneficiaries in a consortium has facility security clearance.

Further security recommendations may be added to the Grant Agreement in the form

of security deliverables (e.g. create security advisory group, limit level of detail, use

fake scenario, exclude use of classified information, etc).

Beneficiaries must ensure that their projects are not subject to national/third-country

security requirements that could affect implementation or put into question the award

of the grant (e.g. technology restrictions, national security classification, etc). The

granting authority must be notified immediately of any potential security issues.

11 See Commission Decision 2015/444/EU,Euratom of 13 March 2015 on the security rules for protecting

EU classified information (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, p. 53.

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7 Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

7.1 Financial capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement the

projects and contribute their share. Organisations participating in several projects must

have sufficient capacity to implement all these projects.

The financial capacity check will be carried out on the basis of the documents you will

be requested to upload in the Participant Register during grant preparation (e.g. profit

and loss account and balance sheet, business plan, audit report produced by an

approved external auditor, certifying the accounts for the last closed financial year,

etc.). The analysis will be based on neutral financial indicators, but will also take into

account other aspects, such as dependency on EU funding and deficit and revenue in

previous years.

The check will normally be done for all beneficiaries, except:

− public bodies (entities established as public body under national law, including

local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations

− if the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000.

If needed, it may also be done for affiliated entities.

If we consider that your financial capacity is not satisfactory, we may require:

− further information

− an enhanced financial responsibility regime, i.e. joint and several responsibility

for all beneficiaries or joint and several liability of affiliated entities (see below,

section 10)

− pre-financing paid in instalments.

− (one or more) pre-financing guarantees (see below, section 10)

or

− propose no pre-financing

− request that you are replaced or, if needed, reject the entire proposal.

For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and

Financial Capacity Assessment.

7.2 Operational capacity

Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully

implement the projects and contribute their share (including sufficient experience in

projects of comparable size and nature).

This capacity will be assessed together with the ‘Quality’ award criterion, on the basis

of the competence and experience of the applicants and their project teams, including

operational resources (human, technical and other) or, exceptionally, the measures

proposed to obtain it by the time the task implementation starts.

If the evaluation of the award criterion is positive, the applicants are considered to have

sufficient operational capacity.

Applicants will have to show their capacity via the following information:

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− general profiles (qualifications and experiences) of the staff responsible for

managing and implementing the project

− description of the consortium participants

− applicants’ activity reports of last year

− list of previous projects (key projects for the last 4 years)

Additional supporting documents may be requested, if needed to confirm the

operational capacity of any applicant.

Public bodies, Member State organisations and international organisations are

exempted from the operational capacity check.

7.3 Exclusion

Applicants which are subject to an EU exclusion decision or in one of the following

exclusion situations that bar them from receiving EU funding can NOT participate12:

− bankruptcy, winding up, affairs administered by the courts, arrangement with

creditors, suspended business activities or other similar procedures (including

procedures for persons with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts)

− in breach of social security or tax obligations (including if done by persons with

unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts)

− guilty of grave professional misconduct13 (including if done by persons having

powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or

persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant)

− committed fraud, corruption, links to a criminal organisation, money laundering,

terrorism-related crimes (including terrorism financing), child labour or human

trafficking (including if done by persons having powers of representation,

decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for

the award/implementation of the grant)

− shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations under an EU

procurement contract, grant agreement, prize, expert contract, or similar

(including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making

or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the

award/implementation of the grant)

− guilty of irregularities within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Regulation No

2988/95 (including if done by persons having powers of representation,

decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for

the award/implementation of the grant)

− created under a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social

or other legal obligations in the country of origin or created another entity with

this purpose (including if done by persons having powers of representation,

12 See Articles 138 and 143 of EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509. 13 ‘Professional misconduct’ includes, in particular, the following: violation of ethical standards of the

profession; wrongful conduct with impact on professional credibility; breach of generally accepted professional ethical standards; false declarations/misrepresentation of information; participation in a cartel or other agreement distorting competition; violation of IPR; attempting to influence decision- making processes by taking advantage, through misrepresentation, of a conflict of interests, or to obtain confidential information from public authorities to gain an advantage; incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence or similar activities contrary to the EU values where negatively affecting or risking to affect the performance of a legal commitment.

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decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for

the award/implementation of the grant).

− intentionally and without proper justification resisted14 an investigation, check

or audit carried out by an EU authorising officer (or their representative or

auditor), OLAF, the EPPO, or the European Court of Auditors.

Applicants will also be rejected if it turns out that15:

− during the award procedure they misrepresented information required as a

condition for participating or failed to supply that information

− they were previously involved in the preparation of the call and this entails a

distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise (conflict of

interest).

8 Evaluation and award procedure

The proposals will have to follow the standard submission and evaluation

procedure (one-stage submission + one-step evaluation).

An evaluation committee will assess all applications. Proposals will first be checked

for formal requirements (admissibility, and eligibility, see sections 5 and 6). Proposals

found admissible and eligible will be evaluated against the operational capacity and

award criteria (see sections 7 and 9) and then ranked according to their scores.

For proposals with the same score a priority order will be determined according to the

following approach:

Successively for every group of ex aequo proposals, starting with the highest scored

group, and continuing in descending order:

1) they will be ranked according to their score for criterion “Impact”,

2) then if a tie remains, according to their score for criterion “Quality”.

3) In addition to the above-mentioned award criteria, when awarding the projects, the

Commission reserves the right to take into account the geographical repartition of the

capacities to ensure an optimal coverage of the EU. In case of competing proposals

within the same geographical area, proposals with the same overall score will be ranked

according to their score for criterion “Impact”.

All proposals will be informed about the evaluation result (evaluation result letter).

Successful proposals will be invited for grant agreement preparation (GAP); the other

ones will be put on the reserve list or rejected.

No commitment for funding — Invitation to grant preparation does NOT constitute

a formal commitment for funding. We will still need to make various legal checks before

grant award: legal entity validation, financial capacity, exclusion check, etc.

Grant preparation will involve a dialogue in order to fine-tune technical or financial

aspects of the project and may require extra information from your side. It may also

include adjustments to the proposal to address recommendations of the evaluation

14 ‘Resisting an investigation, check or audit’ means carrying out actions with the goal or effect of

preventing, hindering or delaying the conduct of any of the activities needed to perform the investigation, check or audit, such as refusing to grant the necessary access to its premises or any other areas used for business purposes, concealing or refusing to disclose information or providing false information.

15 See Article 143 EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.

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committee or other concerns. Compliance will be a pre-condition for signing the grant

agreement.

If you believe that the evaluation procedure was flawed, you can submit a complaint

(following the deadlines and procedures set out in the evaluation result letter). Please

note that notifications which have not been opened within 10 days after sending are

considered to have been accessed and that deadlines will be counted from

opening/access (see also Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions). Please also

be aware that for complaints submitted electronically, there may be character

limitations.

9 Award criteria

The award criteria facilitate the evaluation of proposals in relation to the set objectives

and priorities. They enable the selection of proposals which the Contracting Authority

can be confident will comply with its objectives and priorities.

− Relevance (maximum 30 points):

How relevant is the proposal to the objectives of the invitation to apply, namely how

funding this upgrade and/or repair enhances international deployability of the

response capacity? (10 points)

Does the application concern the type of capacity for which the capacity goal is not

met? (10 points)

Cross-cutting issues (5 points):

Will the proposal make the response capacity greener and more digital?

Where relevant, is the proposal addressing gender inequalities or differences and

the needs of people living with disabilities?

To what extent the proposal enhances EU visibility and communication on the ECPP

and the UCPM in general?

Justification (5 points):

Where applicable, does the proposal clearly address the findings and

recommendations of an ongoing or completed certification process?

To what extent does the project description demonstrate a need for the proposed

action?

Are problems, needs and objectives correctly described? To what extent is the

proposal addressing them?

− Quality (maximum 40 points):

1. Coherence of the design of the action (20 points)

To what extent are the expected project results clear, appropriate, and realistic?

To what extent is the work plan for implementing the action clear, feasible and

effective?

To what extent are the activities and their results clearly described and consistent?

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To what extent does the project description identify and assess potential risks to

the implementation of the proposed action? Are proper risk mitigation measures

proposed?

2. Project management (10 points):

To what extent the measures chosen to monitor the activities are clearly described

and consistent with the expected results?

To what extent does the applicant/consortium have the necessary resources,

including human resources, to ensure the implementation of the proposed action?

To what extent has the applicant/consortium adequate organisational structure and

procedures to ensure decision-making, coordination and monitoring of the action

proposed in the application?

3. Resources (10 points):

To what extent is the proposed action feasible within the proposed timeframe, given

the resources available?

To what extent is the proposed budget adequate? Is cost effectiveness

(sufficient/appropriate budget for proper implementation) adequate? Is cost

efficiency (ratio between results and costs) satisfactory?

How well are the activities reflected in the budget?

− Impact (maximum 30 points):

How will the action contribute to the expected outcomes from this invitation (see

2.3), namely:

- Increased ability of the EU to respond to disasters, through a strengthened

European disaster preparedness in the UCPM area and in particular

contributing to closing the capacity gaps (see Annex VI) (20 points)

- ECPP capacities are geographically distributed to allow for quick and

effective deployment to different risk prone areas (4 points)

- ECPP capacities are able to intervene in more diverse operating conditions

during international deployments (4 points)

- Will the proposed measures for communicating and disseminating the

project results have a positive impact? (2 points)

Maximum score: 100 points.

Award criteria Minimum pass score

Maximum score

Relevance 15 30

Quality 20 40

Impact 15 30

Overall (pass) scores 65 100

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Individual thresholds per criterion: 15/30, 20/40 and 15/30 points.

Overall threshold: 65 points.

Proposals that pass the individual thresholds AND the overall threshold will be

considered for funding — within the limits of the available call budget. Other proposals

will be rejected.

10 Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements

If you pass the evaluation, you will be invited for grant preparation, where you will be

asked to prepare the Grant Agreement together with the EU Project Officer.

This Grant Agreement will set the framework for your grant and its terms and

conditions, in particular concerning deliverables, reporting and payments.

The Model Grant Agreement that will be used (and all other relevant templates and

guidance documents) can be found on Portal Reference Documents.

10.1 Starting date and project duration

The project starting date and duration will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet,

point 1). Normally the starting date will be after grant signature. Retroactive starting

date can be granted exceptionally for duly justified reasons — but never earlier than

the proposal submission date.

Project duration: the initial duration of the project cannot exceed 24 months.

Extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment.

10.2 Milestones and deliverables

The milestones and deliverables for each project will be managed through the Portal

Grant Management System and will be reflected in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement.

The following deliverables are mandatory for all projects:

− Progress reports at mid term

− Updated detailed budget table at mid-term (with actual costs presented)

− Up-to-date SOPs and factsheet at the end of the project

− For Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs): Update on the WHO classification process

for capacities not yet verified by WHO with the progress and final report

− For non-classified USAR teams: Update on the INSARAG classification process

with the progress and final report

10.3 Form of grant, funding rate and maximum grant amount

The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.)

will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 3 and art 5).

Project budget (maximum grant amount): No minimum or maximum limit. The grant

awarded may be lower than the amount requested.

The grant will be a budget-based mixed actual cost grant (actual costs, with unit cost

and flat-rate elements). This means that ONLY certain types of costs (eligible costs)

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and costs that were actually incurred for your project (NOT the budgeted costs) will be

reimbursed. For unit costs and flat rates, you can charge the amounts calculated as

explained in the Grant Agreement (see art 6 and Annex 2 and 2a).

The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rate fixed in the Grant Agreement

(maximum 75%).

Upgrade: The EU financial contribution will be defined by applying a maximum co-

financing rate of 75 % to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the

beneficiary and its affiliated entities provided that these do not exceed 50% of the

average cost of developing the capacity (Annex III is used as a reference for the

estimated average cost of developing a capacity).

In case the capacity is not listed in Annex III, the applicant has to provide in the

application or as a supporting document the total actual cost (equipment, staff and

training included) of developing the said capacity.

Repair: The EU financial contribution will be defined by applying a maximum co-

financing rate of 75 % to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the

beneficiary.

Grants may NOT produce a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs). For-

profit organisations must declare their revenues and, if there is a profit, we will deduct

it from the final grant amount (see art 22.3).

Moreover, please be aware that the final grant amount may be reduced in case of non-

compliance with the Grant Agreement (e.g. improper implementation, breach of

obligations, non-compliance with the visibility obligations, etc.).

10.4 Budget categories and cost eligibility rules

The budget categories and cost eligibility rules are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data

Sheet, point 3, art 6 and Annex 2).

Budget categories for this call:

− A. Personnel costs

− A.1 Employees,

− A.2 Natural persons under direct contract,

− A.3 Seconded persons

− A.4 SME owners and natural person beneficiaries

− A.5 Volunteers

− B. Subcontracting costs

− C. Purchase costs

− C.1 Travel and subsistence

− C.2 Equipment

− C.3 Other goods, works and services

− E. Indirect costs

Specific cost eligibility conditions for this call:

Personnel costs:

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− average personnel costs (unit cost according to usual cost accounting

practices)16: Yes

− SME owner/natural person unit cost 17

: Yes

− volunteers cost 18

: not eligible under this invitation

Travel and subsistence unit cost 19

: Yes20

Equipment costs: full cost

The costs of purchasing, developing, and/or operating new response capacities in a

disaster situation are not eligible.

Indirect costs flat rate: 7% of the eligible direct costs (categories A-D, except

volunteers costs and exempted specific cost categories, if any).

The indirect costs are commonly known as overheads. These are costs that cannot be

identified as specific costs directly linked to the project and so booked to it directly.

They cover general indirect costs you incur in implementing the project, typically:

• general rental costs or depreciation of buildings and equipment

• telecommunication and postal fees

• water, gas, electricity, heating, etc.

• office furniture

• supplies and petty office equipment

• insurance

• costs connected with support services, such as administrative and financial

management, human resources, training, documentation, IT, etc.

VAT: VAT is not eligible

Costs for financial support to third parties are not allowed.

In-kind contributions for free are allowed, but cost-neutral, i.e. they cannot be declared

as cost.

Visibility, communication: costs linked to the visibility of the project are eligible

(stickers, patches etc.); costs for presenting the project on the participants’ websites

or social media accounts are eligible but costs for separate project websites are not

eligible.

16 Decision of 19 March 2025 authorising the use of unit costs based on usual cost accounting practices for

actions under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism Programme. 17 Commission Decision of 20 October 2020 authorising the use of unit costs for the personnel costs of the

owners of small and medium-sized enterprises and beneficiaries that are natural persons not receiving a salary for the work carried out by themselves under an action or work programme (C(2020)7115), as amended by Commission Decision C(2024) 5328 final of 30.7.2024).

18 Commission Decision of 10 April 2019 authorising the use of unit costs for declaring personnel costs for the work carried out by volunteers under an action or a work programme (C(2019)2646).

19 Commission Decision of 31.7.2024 amending Commission Decision C(2021)35 authorising the use of unit costs for travel, accommodation and subsistence costs under an action or work programme under the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework

20 See EU Grants AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 6 on eligible costs: travel and subsistence costs

must be declared using the unit cost according to Annex 2a of the grant agreement. If a particular instance of travel, accommodation or subsistence in the action is not covered by one of the unit costs mentioned in Decision C(2021)35 the actual costs may be used.

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10.5 Reporting and payment arrangements

The reporting and payment arrangements are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data

Sheet, point 4 and art 21 and 22).

After grant signature, you will normally receive a pre-financing corresponding to 70%

of the maximum grant amount to start working on the project. The pre-financing will

be paid 30 days from entry into force of the grant agreement or of the financial

guarantee (if required) — whichever is the latest.

There will be no additional pre-financing payments linked to a pre-financing report.

In addition, you will be expected to submit one or more progress reports not linked to

payments.

Payment of the balance: At the end of the project, we will calculate your final grant

amount. If the total of earlier payments is higher than the final grant amount, we will

ask you (your coordinator) to pay back the difference (recovery).

All payments will be made to the coordinator.

Please be aware that payments will be automatically lowered if one of your

consortium members has outstanding debts towards the EU (granting authority or other

EU bodies). Such debts will be offset by us — in line with the conditions set out in the

Grant Agreement (see art 22).

Please also note that you are responsible for keeping records on all the work done and

the costs declared.

10.6 Pre-financing guarantees

If a prefinancing guarantee is required, it will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data

Sheet, point 4). The amount will be set during grant preparation, and it will normally

be equal or lower than the prefinancing for your grant.

The guarantee should be in euro and issued by an approved bank/financial institution

established in an EU Member State. If you are established in a non-EU country and

would like to provide a guarantee from a bank/financial institution in your country,

please contact us (this may be exceptionally accepted, if it offers equivalent security).

Amounts blocked in bank accounts will NOT be accepted as financial guarantees.

Prefinancing guarantees are normally requested from the coordinator, for the

consortium. They must be provided during grant preparation, in time to make the

prefinancing (scanned copy via Portal AND original by post).

If agreed with us, the bank guarantee may be replaced by a guarantee from a third

party.

The guarantee will be released at the end of the grant, in accordance with the conditions

laid down in the Grant Agreement (art 23).

10.7 Certificates

Depending on the type of action, size of grant amount and type of beneficiaries, you

may be requested to submit different certificates. The types, schedules and thresholds

for each certificate are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 4 and art 24).

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A Certificate of Financial statements (CFS) must be provided for each beneficiary and

affiliated entity when the requested EU contribution at interim or final payment is

EUR 325 000 or more.

10.8 Liability regime for recoveries

The liability regime for recoveries will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet

point 4.4 and art 22).

For beneficiaries, it is one of the following:

− limited joint and several liability with individual ceilings — each beneficiary up

to their maximum grant amount

− unconditional joint and several liability — each beneficiary up to the maximum

grant amount for the action

or

− individual financial responsibility — each beneficiary only for their own debts.

In addition, the granting authority may require joint and several liability of affiliated

entities (with their beneficiary).

10.9 Provisions concerning the project implementation

Security rules: see Model Grant Agreement (art 13 and Annex 5)

Intellectual property rights (IPR) rules: see Model Grant Agreement (art 16 and Annex

5):

− rights of use on results: Yes

Communication, dissemination and visibility of funding: see Model Grant Agreement

(art 17 and Annex 5):

− additional communication and dissemination activities: Yes

− limited communication and visibility to protect persons involved: Yes

− visibility in field operations outside the EU: Yes

Specific rules for carrying out the action: see Model Grant Agreement (art 18 and Annex

5):

− zero tolerance: Yes

− transfer of assets at the end of the action: No

− EU restrictive measures: Yes

10.10 Non-compliance and breach of contract

The Grant Agreement (chapter 5) provides for the measures we may take in case of

breach of contract (and other non-compliance issues).

For more information, see AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.

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11 How to submit an application

All proposals must be submitted directly online via the Funding & Tenders Portal

Electronic Submission System. Paper applications are NOT accepted.

Submission is a 2-step process:

a) create a user account and register your organisation

To use the Submission System (the only way to apply), all participants need to create

an EU Login user account.

Once you have an EULogin account, you can register your organisation in the Participant

Register. When your registration is finalised, you will receive a 9-digit participant

identification code (PIC).

b) submit the proposal

Access the Electronic Submission System through the following link provided in the

invitation letter:

Submit your proposal in 3 parts, as follows:

− Part A includes administrative information about the applicant organisations

(future coordinator, beneficiaries, affiliated entities and associated partners)

and the summarised budget for the proposal. Fill it in directly online.

− Part B (description of the action) covers the technical content of the proposal.

Download the mandatory word template from the Submission System, fill it in

and upload it as a PDF file.

− Annexes (see section 5 of this document). Upload them as PDF file (single or

multiple depending on the slots). Excel upload is sometimes possible, depending

on the file type.

The project acronym should follow the structure (max 20 characters):

ECPP-2026-country code-capacity acronym.

The proposal must keep to the page limits (see section 5); excess pages will be

disregarded.

Documents must be uploaded to the right category in the Submission System

otherwise the proposal might be considered incomplete and thus inadmissible.

The proposal must be submitted before the call deadline (see section 4). After this

deadline, the system is closed and proposals can no longer be submitted.

Once the proposal is submitted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail (with date and

time of your application). If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail, it means your

proposal has NOT been submitted. If you believe this is due to a fault in the Submission

System, you should immediately file a complaint via the IT Helpdesk webform,

explaining the circumstances and attaching a copy of the proposal (and, if possible,

screenshots to show what happened).

Details on processes and procedures are described in the Online Manual. The Online

Manual also contains the links to FAQs and detailed instructions regarding the Portal

Electronic Exchange System.

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12 Help

As far as possible, please try to find the answers you need yourself, in this and

the other documentation (we have limited resources for handling direct enquiries):

− Online Manual

− Portal FAQ (for general questions).

For invitations, we will contact you directly in case of a call update.

Contact

For individual questions on the Portal Submission System, please contact the IT

Helpdesk.

Non-IT related questions should be sent to the following email address: ECHO-

[email protected]

Please:

− send your questions at the latest 7 days before the submission deadline (see

section 4)

− indicate clearly the reference of the call and title of the topic to which your

question relates (see cover page).

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13 Important

IMPORTANT

• Don’t wait until the end — Complete your application sufficiently in advance of the deadline to avoid any last minute technical problems. Problems due to last minute submissions (e.g. congestion, etc.) will be entirely at your risk. Call deadlines can NOT

be extended.

• Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Exchange System — By submitting the application, all participants accept to use the electronic exchange system in accordance with the Portal Terms & Conditions.

• Registration — Before submitting the application, all beneficiaries, affiliated entities

and associated partners must be registered in the Participant Register. The participant identification code (PIC) (one per participant) is mandatory for the Application Form.

• Consortium roles — When setting up your consortium, you should think of

organisations that help you reach objectives and solve problems.

The roles should be attributed according to the level of participation in the project. Main participants should participate as beneficiaries or affiliated entities; other entities can participate as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions. Associated partners and third parties giving in-kind contributions should bear their own costs (they will not become formal recipients of EU funding). Subcontracting should normally constitute a limited part and must be performed by

third parties (not by one of the beneficiaries/affiliated entities). Subcontracting going beyond 30% of the total eligible costs must be justified in the application.

• Coordinator — In multi-beneficiary grants, the beneficiaries participate as consortium

(group of beneficiaries). They will have to choose a coordinator, who will take care of the project management and coordination and will represent the consortium towards the granting authority. In mono-beneficiary grants, the single beneficiary will automatically be coordinator.

• Affiliated entities — Applicants may participate with affiliated entities (i.e. entities linked to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations as the beneficiaries, but do not sign the grant and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves). They will get a part of the grant money and must therefore comply with

all the call conditions and be validated (just like beneficiaries); but they do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for consortium composition (if any). If affiliated entities participate in your project, please do not forget to provide documents demonstrating their affiliation link to your organisation as part of your application.

• Associated partners — Applicants may participate with associated partners (i.e.

partner organisations which participate in the action but without the right to get grant money). They participate without funding and therefore do not need to be validated.

• Consortium agreement — For practical and legal reasons it is recommended to set up internal arrangements that allow you to deal with exceptional or unforeseen

circumstances (in all cases, even if not mandatory under the Grant Agreement). The consortium agreement also gives you the possibility to redistribute the grant money according to your own consortium-internal principles and parameters (for instance, one beneficiary can reattribute its grant money to another beneficiary). The consortium agreement thus allows you to customise the EU grant to the needs inside your consortium and can also help to protect you in case of disputes.

• Balanced project budget— Grant applications must ensure a balanced project budget and sufficient other resources to implement the project successfully (e.g. own contributions, income generated by the action, financial contributions from third

parties, etc.). You may be requested to lower your estimated costs, if they are ineligible (including excessive).

• Completed/ongoing projects — Proposals for projects that have already been completed will be rejected; proposals for projects that have already started will be

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assessed on a case-by-case basis (in this case, no costs can be reimbursed for activities that took place before the project starting date/proposal submission).

• No-profit rule — Grants may NOT give a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs). This will be checked by us at the end of the project.

• No cumulation of funding/no double funding — It is strictly prohibited to cumulate

funding from the EU budget (except under ‘EU Synergies actions’). Outside such Synergies actions, any given action may receive only ONE grant from the EU budget and cost items may under NO circumstances be declared under two EU grants; projects must be designed as different actions, clearly delineated and separated for each grant (without overlaps).

• Combination with EU operating grants — Combination with EU operating grants is possible, if the project remains outside the operating grant work programme and you

make sure that cost items are clearly separated in your accounting and NOT declared twice (see AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, art 6.2.E).

• Multiple proposals — Applicants may submit more than one proposal for different projects under the same call (and be awarded a funding for them).

Organisations may participate in several proposals.

BUT: if there are several proposals for very similar projects, only one application will be accepted and evaluated; the applicants will be asked to withdraw one of them (or it will be rejected).

• Resubmission — Proposals may be changed and re-submitted until the deadline for submission.

• Rejection — By submitting the application, all applicants accept the call conditions set

out in this Call Document (and the documents it refers to). Proposals that do not comply with all the call conditions will be rejected. This applies also to applicants: All applicants need to fulfil the criteria; if any one of them doesn’t, they must be replaced or the entire proposal will be rejected.

• Cancellation — There may be circumstances which may require the cancellation of the call. In this case, you will be informed via a call or topic update. Please note that

cancellations are without entitlement to compensation.

• Language — You can submit your proposal in any official EU language (project abstract/summary should however always be in English). For reasons of efficiency, we strongly advise you to use English for the entire application. If you need the call documentation in another official EU language, please submit a request within 10 days after call publication (for the contact information, see section 12).

• Transparency — In accordance with Article 38 of the EU Financial Regulation, information about EU grants awarded is published each year on the Europa website.

This includes:

o beneficiary names

o beneficiary addresses

o the purpose for which the grant was awarded

o the maximum amount awarded.

The publication can exceptionally be waived (on reasoned and duly substantiated

request), if there is a risk that the disclosure could jeopardise your rights and freedoms under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights or harm your commercial interests.

• Data protection — The submission of a proposal under this call involves the collection,

use and processing of personal data. This data will be processed in accordance with the

applicable legal framework. It will be processed solely for the purpose of evaluating your proposal, subsequent management of your grant and, if needed, programme monitoring, evaluation and communication. Details are explained in the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

Call: UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA — European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants

27

Annex I - Rules for use of equipment procured under adaptation grants

The applicant confirms to comply with the following rules for use of the equipment

procured under adaptation grants at the end of the action:

(a) The beneficiary shall use the equipment until the end of the equipment's useful

economic lifespan, namely until it has been fully depreciated in accordance with the

usual accounting practices of the beneficiary determined according to the applicable

national and international accounting standards. During the registration period of the

response capacity to the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP), the beneficiary shall

use the equipment as part of the response capacity for which it has been purchased in

deployments under the ECPP. Where the useful economic lifespan of the equipment

exceeds the registration period in the ECPP, the beneficiary commits to use the

equipment for the benefit of civil protection operations. At the end of the grant

agreement, the beneficiary shall submit to the Commission with the final report

information on the use of the equipment and its remaining useful economic lifespan.

(b) If the use of equipment in accordance with paragraph (a) is not possible or

appropriate, the beneficiary may donate the equipment to authorities and non-profit

organisations in the country of intervention, on the basis of a cost-efficiency analysis

and on the basis of a clear needs assessment. Under no circumstances may the

equipment be donated to for-profit entities. If the equipment has been donated during

the implementation period of the grant agreement, the beneficiary shall submit to the

Commission, with the final report, information on the donation. This shall include

information on the equipment donated, the recipients of the donation, and the

information on the cost-efficiency analysis and needs assessment. In the event of

technical and financial checks and audits carried out pursuant to Article 25 of the grant

agreement, the beneficiary shall make available to the Commission or competent bodies

of the Union all documents relevant to the donation, in particular the donation

certificates. Costs of equipment replacing the donated equipment shall not be eligible

under any future adaptation grants for the response capacity.

Annex II – Commitment letter (model)

Annex III – Average costs of developing the capacities

Annex IV – Application form to ECPP

Annex V – Factsheet (template)

Annex VI – ECPP goals and gaps

Electronically signed on 08/12/2025 12:00 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN AID

OPERATIONS (ECHO) Emergency Management and rescEU

Capacities and Operational Support

Frequently Asked Questions

on European Civil Protection Pool adaptation

grants

2

CONTENTS

1. What are the available types of adaptation grants? ......................................... 3

2. Which capacities are eligible to apply? ........................................................... 3

3. Can the development of new capacities be covered by adaptation grants? ..... 3

4. Who can apply? ............................................................................................... 3

5. Can an NGO apply? ........................................................................................ 4

6. Can a capacity not yet committed to the European Civil Protection Pool

(ECPP) apply? ................................................................................................. 4

7. If we have already received a grant for a module several years ago, can we

receive it again? ............................................................................................... 4

8. Is a capacity (already committed to ECPP) that was donated after a mission

regarded as a repair and as such eligible? ....................................................... 4

9. Is it possible to combine repair and upgrade grants? ...................................... 4

10. Can a non-classified USAR (by INSARAG) or EMT (by WHO) apply for a

grant? ............................................................................................................... 4

11. What is the deadline to apply?......................................................................... 5

12. Is there a minimum or maximum amount of the EU requested contribution? 5

13. Is there a maximum duration of the grant. ...................................................... 5

14. What is the expected outcome of the action? .................................................. 5

15. Is VAT an eligible cost? .................................................................................. 5

16. Are the indirect costs eligible? ........................................................................ 6

17. How to calculate the EU contribution? ........................................................... 6

18. Can an applicant send the application to the European Commission in a draft

for comments? ................................................................................................. 6

19. Can single entities apply? ................................................................................ 6

20. Can the costs of the personnel be covered by the grant? ................................. 6

21. What are the documents required to request a grant?...................................... 6

3

1. WHAT ARE THE AVAILABLE TYPES OF ADAPTATION GRANTS?

There are two types of adaptation grants:

- Upgrade response capacities to a state of readiness and availability that makes them

deployable as part of the ECPP.

- Repair response capacities to a state of readiness and availability that makes them

deployable as part of the ECPP.

Definition of repair - to put something that is damaged, broken, or not working

correctly, back into good condition or make it work again. Repair activities may

involve replacing faulty parts, fixing defects, and conducting testing to ensure that

the asset functions correctly.

2. WHICH CAPACITIES ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

In 2026 invitation to apply, all kinds of capacities (modules, TAST and ORCs) can apply.

3. CAN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CAPACITIES BE COVERED BY ADAPTATION

GRANTS?

No. Costs for the development of the new capacities are not eligible. Only costs for already

existing capacities can be requested. The applicant must demonstrate that the capacity to

be upgraded or repaired is currently operational. To this effect, the SOPs of the capacity

must be attached to the application.

4. WHO CAN APPLY?

Proposals may be submitted by Member States' national civil protection authorities or other

entities authorised by them (through a letter of support) to request and receive financial

support from the Commission.

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

be legal entities (public or private bodies)

be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:

EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))

UCPM Participating States: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova,

Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine

5. CAN AN NGO APPLY?

Yes, but a letter of support signed by Member States' national civil protection authority

needs to be submitted with the application.

4

6. CAN A CAPACITY NOT YET COMMITTED TO THE EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION

POOL (ECPP) APPLY?

Yes. The application can be submitted either for:

- Already committed capacities to the ECPP

- New capacities to the ECPP. In this case a commitment letter signed by the Member

States' national civil protection authority needs to be submitted with the

application.

7. IF WE HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED A GRANT FOR A MODULE SEVERAL YEARS AGO,

CAN WE RECEIVE IT AGAIN?

Yes, you can apply and receive the grant.

8. IS A CAPACITY (ALREADY COMMITTED TO ECPP) THAT WAS DONATED AFTER A

MISSION REGARDED AS A REPAIR AND AS SUCH ELIGIBLE?

Definition of repair - to put something that is damaged, broken, or not working correctly,

back into good condition or make it work again. Repair activities may involve replacing

faulty parts, fixing defects, and conducting testing to ensure that the asset functions

correctly. So, donation of equipment is not covered by the definition of the repair.

9. IS IT POSSIBLE TO COMBINE REPAIR AND UPGRADE GRANTS?

Yes, it is possible to combine. Please make sure that in the description of the activities you

clearly indicate which activities are covered under repair and which are to be upgraded.

10. CAN A NON-CLASSIFIED USAR (BY INSARAG) OR EMT (BY WHO) APPLY FOR

A GRANT?

Yes, they can apply. But please remember to attach the required annexes to the application

for grant.

- For Emergency Medical Teams and Specialised Care Teams, please attach the

Expression of Interest to WHO and the completed self-assessment.

- For non-classified Light USAR, MUSAR and HUSAR teams, please send the proof

that the INSARAG process was launched (e.g. official letter of application and

assignment of mentor)

11. WHAT IS THE DEADLINE TO APPLY?

Applicants have to submit their proposals electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal

Electronic Submission System (accessible via the link in the invitation letter) till 10 March

2026 – 17:00:00 CET (Brussels).

5

12. IS THERE A MINIMUM OR MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF THE EU REQUESTED

CONTRIBUTION?

No there is not. However, please remember that for:

Upgrade: The EU financial contribution will be defined by applying a maximum co-

financing rate of 75 % to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the

beneficiary and its affiliated entities provided that these do not exceed 50% of the average

cost of developing the capacity (Annex III is used as a reference for the estimated average

cost of developing a capacity).

In case the capacity is not listed in Annex III, the applicant has to provide in the application

or as a supporting document the total actual cost (equipment, staff and training included)

of developing the said capacity.

Repair: The EU financial contribution will be defined by applying a maximum co-

financing rate of 75 % to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the

beneficiary.

13. IS THERE A MAXIMUM DURATION OF THE GRANT.

Yes, the initial maximum duration is 24 months.

However, for duly substantiated reasons, the duration of the action can be extended during

the implementation period.

14. WHAT IS THE EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THE ACTION?

- Increased ability of the EU to respond to disasters, through a strengthened European

disaster preparedness.

- ECPP capacities are geographically distributed to allow for quick and effective

deployment to different risk prone areas.

- ECPP capacities are able to intervene in more diverse operating conditions during

international deployments.

15. IS VAT AN ELIGIBLE COST?

VAT is not an eligible cost under this invitation regardless the legal status of the applicant.

16. ARE THE INDIRECT COSTS ELIGIBLE?

Yes, 7% of indirect costs is eligible.

The indirect costs are commonly known as overheads. These are costs that cannot be

identified as specific costs directly linked to the project and so booked to it directly. They

cover general indirect costs you incur in implementing the project, typically:

• general rental costs or depreciation of buildings and equipment

• telecommunication and postal fees

6

• water, gas, electricity, heating, etc.

• office furniture

• supplies and petty office equipment

• insurance

• costs connected with support services, such as administrative and financial management,

human resources, training, documentation, IT, etc.

17. HOW TO CALCULATE THE EU CONTRIBUTION?

The EU contribution amount requested is a percentage of the total eligible cost (direct +

indirect).

18. CAN AN APPLICANT SEND THE APPLICATION TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN

A DRAFT FOR COMMENTS?

No. Please do not send the draft version for comments. Applications should be submitted

exclusively via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System before the

deadline.

19. CAN SINGLE ENTITIES APPLY?

Yes, either single or multi entities can apply for a grant.

20. CAN THE COSTS OF THE PERSONNEL BE COVERED BY THE GRANT?

Yes, the costs of the personnel can be covered if they fulfil the general eligibility conditions

and are linked and assigned to the implementation of the action. Please remember that the

costs of the personnel should not be excessive. Moreover, the costs of the administrative

personnel are covered by the 7% of indirect costs. Please also notice that project

management activities costs exceeding 20% of the total costs of the project are not eligible.

21. WHAT ARE THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO REQUEST A GRANT?

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required

annexes and supporting documents:

- Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the

participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the

summarised budget for the project

(to be filled in directly online)

- Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project

(mandatory word template to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System,

completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as PDF)

Mandatory annexes and supporting documents (to be uploaded):

- detailed budget table (mandatory excel template available in the Submission

System) to be submitted as Excel file

7

Detailed project schedule

- Activity reports of last year: not applicable to public authorities, mandatory for

private entities

- List of previous projects (key projects for the last 4 years) (template available in

Part B)

- Annex I - Rules for use of equipment procured under adaptation grants (applicants

shall copy the wording in Annex I to the present call document and attach it at the

end of the application form Part B before assembling and uploading as one PDF

file).

- letter of support (see template available with Part B) signed by the Director General

or any other authorized representative of the competent national civil protection

authority of each country that will benefit from the action (except for participants

which themselves are the national authority).

- Commitment letter to the ECPP (where relevant) signed by the DG or any other

authorized representative of the competent national civil protection authority –

please see Annex II (for newly committed capacities, to be adapted as necessary in

other cases).

- For capacities new to the ECPP, completed application form (Annex IV), SOPs or

equivalent (that demonstrate that the response capacity already exists as a pre-

defined arrangement of human and material means that can be described in terms

of capacity for intervention and tasks) and factsheet (Annex V).

- For Emergency Medical Teams and Specialised Care Teams, please attach the

Expression of Interest to WHO and if available, the completed self-assessment.

- For non-classified Light USAR, MUSAR and HUSAR teams, please send the proof

that the INSARAG process was launched (e.g. official letter of application and

assignment of mentor).

22. WHAT ARE THE INELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES?

The following activities are not considered as eligible for funding under this

invitation:

- Activities related to the development of new capacities,

- Activities related to the maintenance of response capacities,

- Activities related to the renting of the spaces/buildings

- Activities covered by other EU-funded grants (e.g. under the WHO contribution

agreement - Support to the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative (mentorship

and classification process, standard setting and training support); MODEX

- Project management activities costs exceeding 20% of the total costs of the project.

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111

[email protected]

Office: L-86 07/052 – Tel. direct line +32 229-86955

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN AID

OPERATIONS (ECHO) Emergency Response Coordination Centre

Civil Protection Emergency Response Capabilities

Brussels ECHO.A.2/ECPP

INVITATION FOR PROPOSALS UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC— EUROPEAN CIVIL

PROTECTION POOL UPGRADE AND/OR REPAIR OF ECPP RESPONSE CAPACITIES

Brief guidance for applicants on the Technical Description (Part B) form

The following provides complementary guidance on what information to include in the

Technical Description (Part B) in the Funding & Tenders Portal, as part of your grant

application for European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP) Upgrade and/or repair of ECPP

response capacities. Please carefully follow the instructions.

The applicant should:

1. Fill in all and only the sections indicated for adaptation grants. If a section is not

relevant for adaptation grants, it is stated as “n/a for Adaptation” and please do not

fill it in.

2. Under point 1.2 “Description of the existing capacity and upgrade/repairs needed”:

- Describe in detail the current state of the capacity, including equipment and

personnel etc. Please note that the current SOPs of the capacity should be

attached to your grant application;

- Please indicate the date the capacity became operational, its lifespan (if

applicable) and the estimated time/period during which the capacity can

technically perform its functions/tasks after the adaptation grant is

completed;

- Under “Need analysis – Works required” describe what is needed for the

capacity to be upgraded and/or repaired to a state of readiness and

availability for international deployment as part of the ECPP and describe

how the needs were identified.

3. Under point 1.3 “European added value” please explain clearly how the EU Civil

Protection Mechanism will benefit from this action.

4. Section 2. “Quality”:

2

- Point 2.1 “Concept and methodology”: Please make sure you provide a

detailed description of the approach and methodology that underpin the

project.

- Point 2.2 “Consortium set-up”: Under consortium set-up please describe all

participant(s) (Beneficiaries, Affiliated Entities and Associated Partners, if

any) and their respective roles in the project. Explain how the participants

will work together to implement the project.

- Under point 2.3 “Existing capacities – Previous experience” please describe

the relevant competences of each consortium member in the project to

demonstrate your capacity to implement the action effectively. Provide

information on the type of resources to be involved in the project.

- Under point 2.4 “Project management, quality assurance and monitoring

and evaluation strategy”: please describe in detail measures to ensure high

quality implementation and its monitoring, planning and control.

- Under point 2.5 “Cost effectiveness and financial management” please

describe why your budget is cost effective.

- Under 2.6 “Risk management”: Describe the possible risks, uncertainties

and/or difficulties related to the implementation of your project, and your

measures/strategy for addressing them. Do not forget to fill in the part on

the ownership of the capacity.

5. Section 3. “Impact”:

- Under Point 3.1 “Deployability”, “Technical constraints and limitations”

please describe the geographical coverage and technical constraints and

limitations.

- Under point 3.3 please make sure that you describe in detail the activities

under the planned action to reduce an environmental impact.

- Under point 3.4 “Communication, dissemination and visibility” please

describe in detail the communication, dissemination and visibility

activities. Please make sure the requirements from the call document are

met.

6. Section 4. “Workplan, Work Packages, Activities, Resources and Timing”

- Under point 4.2 “Work packages, activities, resources and timing”, please

also integrate the obligatory deliverables as outlined in the call document

(such as mid-term report including overview on budget spending, and SOPs

and factsheet).

- Please list all the equipment with the detailed description, costs etc. under

Equipment section of the point 4.2 (which must match the listed equipment

in the detailed budget table).

Some general remarks on the submission process

3

- Please be aware that information of the abstract/short summary of Part A might be

published.

- Please make sure that the budget table in the application form part A is consistent

with the detailed budget table that you will attach.

- The page limit for Part B is set at 60. Excess pages will be watermarked and

invisible. A warning message is issued only upon submission.

- Editing in several tabs and/or browsers leads to data loss.

- Warnings of the system do not prevent from submission.

- Please observe that the PDF files may not contain:

- Encryption

- Digital signatures

- PDF portfolios

- Links to webpages.

- Please make sure you attach all needed documents, attachments etc.

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN AID OPERATIONS (ECHO) Emergency Response Coordination Centre The Director

Brussels, ECHO.A/MM

ARES e-mail

Addressees: Directors-General for Civil Protection of the Member States and

Participating States to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism,

Members of the Civil Protection Committee

Subject: Invitation to submit applications for the action “European Civil

Protection Pool Upgrade and/or Repair of ECPP Response

Capacities” (UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA)

Dear Directors-General,

I have the pleasure to inform you of the possibility to obtain financial support, in the

form of adaptation grants, under the European Civil Protection Pool.

The objective is to upgrade and/or repair Member States' response capacities to a state of

readiness and availability that makes them internationally deployable under the Union

Civil Protection Mechanism.

The enclosed Call document (and its six annexes) specifies the conditions for awarding

grants, including the exclusion, selection and award criteria.

If you are interested in applying for an adaptation grant, I invite you to prepare and

submit all relevant documents via the Funding & Tenders Portal, which can be accessed

through the following link as from 09 December 2025:

https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/submission/manage/screen/submission/create-

draft/42959?topic=UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA

The deadline for submitting the grant application is 10 March 2026 at 17:00 CET.

In addition to the information and guidance that you will find in the attached documents

and on the Funding & Tenders Portal, we will organise an online information session on

15 January 2026 from 10:00 to 12:00 (1st part) and from 13.30 to 14.30 (2nd part).

This session will be divided into two parts: The first part is dedicated to operational

aspects of the application followed by a Q&A. The second part will focus on the Funding

& Tenders Portal submission process. All persons interested in attending the session are

invited to contact us at [email protected] to receive the connection details.

2

I would be grateful if you could inform all relevant entities dealing with civil protection

in your country of this funding opportunity.

Michela MATUELLA

Contact: [email protected]

Enclosures:

Call document European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants (UCPM-2026-ECPP-

URC-IBA), including Annex I – Rules for use of equipment procured under adaptation

grants

Annex II – Commitment letter

Annex III – Average costs of developing the capacities

Annex IV – Application form to ECPP

Annex V - Factsheet

Annex VI – ECPP goals and gaps

Electronically signed

Electronically signed on 08/12/2025 12:00 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN AID

OPERATIONS (ECHO) Emergency Management and rescEU

Capacities and Operational Support

Frequently Asked Questions

on European Civil Protection Pool adaptation

grants

2

CONTENTS

1. What are the available types of adaptation grants? ......................................... 3

2. Which capacities are eligible to apply? ........................................................... 3

3. Can the development of new capacities be covered by adaptation grants? ..... 3

4. Who can apply? ............................................................................................... 3

5. Can an NGO apply? ........................................................................................ 4

6. Can a capacity not yet committed to the European Civil Protection Pool

(ECPP) apply? ................................................................................................. 4

7. If we have already received a grant for a module several years ago, can we

receive it again? ............................................................................................... 4

8. Is a capacity (already committed to ECPP) that was donated after a mission

regarded as a repair and as such eligible? ....................................................... 4

9. Is it possible to combine repair and upgrade grants? ...................................... 4

10. Can a non-classified USAR (by INSARAG) or EMT (by WHO) apply for a

grant? ............................................................................................................... 4

11. What is the deadline to apply?......................................................................... 5

12. Is there a minimum or maximum amount of the EU requested contribution? 5

13. Is there a maximum duration of the grant. ...................................................... 5

14. What is the expected outcome of the action? .................................................. 5

15. Is VAT an eligible cost? .................................................................................. 5

16. Are the indirect costs eligible? ........................................................................ 6

17. How to calculate the EU contribution? ........................................................... 6

18. Can an applicant send the application to the European Commission in a draft

for comments? ................................................................................................. 6

19. Can single entities apply? ................................................................................ 6

20. Can the costs of the personnel be covered by the grant? ................................. 6

21. What are the documents required to request a grant?...................................... 6

3

1. WHAT ARE THE AVAILABLE TYPES OF ADAPTATION GRANTS?

There are two types of adaptation grants:

- Upgrade response capacities to a state of readiness and availability that makes them

deployable as part of the ECPP.

- Repair response capacities to a state of readiness and availability that makes them

deployable as part of the ECPP.

Definition of repair - to put something that is damaged, broken, or not working

correctly, back into good condition or make it work again. Repair activities may

involve replacing faulty parts, fixing defects, and conducting testing to ensure that

the asset functions correctly.

2. WHICH CAPACITIES ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

In 2026 invitation to apply, all kinds of capacities (modules, TAST and ORCs) can apply.

3. CAN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CAPACITIES BE COVERED BY ADAPTATION

GRANTS?

No. Costs for the development of the new capacities are not eligible. Only costs for already

existing capacities can be requested. The applicant must demonstrate that the capacity to

be upgraded or repaired is currently operational. To this effect, the SOPs of the capacity

must be attached to the application.

4. WHO CAN APPLY?

Proposals may be submitted by Member States' national civil protection authorities or other

entities authorised by them (through a letter of support) to request and receive financial

support from the Commission.

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

be legal entities (public or private bodies)

be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:

EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))

UCPM Participating States: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova,

Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine

5. CAN AN NGO APPLY?

Yes, but a letter of support signed by Member States' national civil protection authority

needs to be submitted with the application.

4

6. CAN A CAPACITY NOT YET COMMITTED TO THE EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION

POOL (ECPP) APPLY?

Yes. The application can be submitted either for:

- Already committed capacities to the ECPP

- New capacities to the ECPP. In this case a commitment letter signed by the Member

States' national civil protection authority needs to be submitted with the

application.

7. IF WE HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED A GRANT FOR A MODULE SEVERAL YEARS AGO,

CAN WE RECEIVE IT AGAIN?

Yes, you can apply and receive the grant.

8. IS A CAPACITY (ALREADY COMMITTED TO ECPP) THAT WAS DONATED AFTER A

MISSION REGARDED AS A REPAIR AND AS SUCH ELIGIBLE?

Definition of repair - to put something that is damaged, broken, or not working correctly,

back into good condition or make it work again. Repair activities may involve replacing

faulty parts, fixing defects, and conducting testing to ensure that the asset functions

correctly. So, donation of equipment is not covered by the definition of the repair.

9. IS IT POSSIBLE TO COMBINE REPAIR AND UPGRADE GRANTS?

Yes, it is possible to combine. Please make sure that in the description of the activities you

clearly indicate which activities are covered under repair and which are to be upgraded.

10. CAN A NON-CLASSIFIED USAR (BY INSARAG) OR EMT (BY WHO) APPLY FOR

A GRANT?

Yes, they can apply. But please remember to attach the required annexes to the application

for grant.

- For Emergency Medical Teams and Specialised Care Teams, please attach the

Expression of Interest to WHO and the completed self-assessment.

- For non-classified Light USAR, MUSAR and HUSAR teams, please send the proof

that the INSARAG process was launched (e.g. official letter of application and

assignment of mentor)

11. WHAT IS THE DEADLINE TO APPLY?

Applicants have to submit their proposals electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal

Electronic Submission System (accessible via the link in the invitation letter) till 10 March

2026 – 17:00:00 CET (Brussels).

5

12. IS THERE A MINIMUM OR MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF THE EU REQUESTED

CONTRIBUTION?

No there is not. However, please remember that for:

Upgrade: The EU financial contribution will be defined by applying a maximum co-

financing rate of 75 % to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the

beneficiary and its affiliated entities provided that these do not exceed 50% of the average

cost of developing the capacity (Annex III is used as a reference for the estimated average

cost of developing a capacity).

In case the capacity is not listed in Annex III, the applicant has to provide in the application

or as a supporting document the total actual cost (equipment, staff and training included)

of developing the said capacity.

Repair: The EU financial contribution will be defined by applying a maximum co-

financing rate of 75 % to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the

beneficiary.

13. IS THERE A MAXIMUM DURATION OF THE GRANT.

Yes, the initial maximum duration is 24 months.

However, for duly substantiated reasons, the duration of the action can be extended during

the implementation period.

14. WHAT IS THE EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THE ACTION?

- Increased ability of the EU to respond to disasters, through a strengthened European

disaster preparedness.

- ECPP capacities are geographically distributed to allow for quick and effective

deployment to different risk prone areas.

- ECPP capacities are able to intervene in more diverse operating conditions during

international deployments.

15. IS VAT AN ELIGIBLE COST?

VAT is not an eligible cost under this invitation regardless the legal status of the applicant.

16. ARE THE INDIRECT COSTS ELIGIBLE?

Yes, 7% of indirect costs is eligible.

The indirect costs are commonly known as overheads. These are costs that cannot be

identified as specific costs directly linked to the project and so booked to it directly. They

cover general indirect costs you incur in implementing the project, typically:

• general rental costs or depreciation of buildings and equipment

• telecommunication and postal fees

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• water, gas, electricity, heating, etc.

• office furniture

• supplies and petty office equipment

• insurance

• costs connected with support services, such as administrative and financial management,

human resources, training, documentation, IT, etc.

17. HOW TO CALCULATE THE EU CONTRIBUTION?

The EU contribution amount requested is a percentage of the total eligible cost (direct +

indirect).

18. CAN AN APPLICANT SEND THE APPLICATION TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN

A DRAFT FOR COMMENTS?

No. Please do not send the draft version for comments. Applications should be submitted

exclusively via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System before the

deadline.

19. CAN SINGLE ENTITIES APPLY?

Yes, either single or multi entities can apply for a grant.

20. CAN THE COSTS OF THE PERSONNEL BE COVERED BY THE GRANT?

Yes, the costs of the personnel can be covered if they fulfil the general eligibility conditions

and are linked and assigned to the implementation of the action. Please remember that the

costs of the personnel should not be excessive. Moreover, the costs of the administrative

personnel are covered by the 7% of indirect costs. Please also notice that project

management activities costs exceeding 20% of the total costs of the project are not eligible.

21. WHAT ARE THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO REQUEST A GRANT?

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required

annexes and supporting documents:

- Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the

participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the

summarised budget for the project

(to be filled in directly online)

- Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project

(mandatory word template to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System,

completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as PDF)

Mandatory annexes and supporting documents (to be uploaded):

- detailed budget table (mandatory excel template available in the Submission

System) to be submitted as Excel file

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Detailed project schedule

- Activity reports of last year: not applicable to public authorities, mandatory for

private entities

- List of previous projects (key projects for the last 4 years) (template available in

Part B)

- Annex I - Rules for use of equipment procured under adaptation grants (applicants

shall copy the wording in Annex I to the present call document and attach it at the

end of the application form Part B before assembling and uploading as one PDF

file).

- letter of support (see template available with Part B) signed by the Director General

or any other authorized representative of the competent national civil protection

authority of each country that will benefit from the action (except for participants

which themselves are the national authority).

- Commitment letter to the ECPP (where relevant) signed by the DG or any other

authorized representative of the competent national civil protection authority –

please see Annex II (for newly committed capacities, to be adapted as necessary in

other cases).

- For capacities new to the ECPP, completed application form (Annex IV), SOPs or

equivalent (that demonstrate that the response capacity already exists as a pre-

defined arrangement of human and material means that can be described in terms

of capacity for intervention and tasks) and factsheet (Annex V).

- For Emergency Medical Teams and Specialised Care Teams, please attach the

Expression of Interest to WHO and if available, the completed self-assessment.

- For non-classified Light USAR, MUSAR and HUSAR teams, please send the proof

that the INSARAG process was launched (e.g. official letter of application and

assignment of mentor).

22. WHAT ARE THE INELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES?

The following activities are not considered as eligible for funding under this

invitation:

- Activities related to the development of new capacities,

- Activities related to the maintenance of response capacities,

- Activities related to the renting of the spaces/buildings

- Activities covered by other EU-funded grants (e.g. under the WHO contribution

agreement - Support to the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative (mentorship

and classification process, standard setting and training support); MODEX

- Project management activities costs exceeding 20% of the total costs of the project.

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111

[email protected]

Office: L-86 07/052 – Tel. direct line +32 229-86955

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN AID

OPERATIONS (ECHO) Emergency Response Coordination Centre

Civil Protection Emergency Response Capabilities

Brussels ECHO.A.2/ECPP

INVITATION FOR PROPOSALS UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC— EUROPEAN CIVIL

PROTECTION POOL UPGRADE AND/OR REPAIR OF ECPP RESPONSE CAPACITIES

Brief guidance for applicants on the Technical Description (Part B) form

The following provides complementary guidance on what information to include in the

Technical Description (Part B) in the Funding & Tenders Portal, as part of your grant

application for European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP) Upgrade and/or repair of ECPP

response capacities. Please carefully follow the instructions.

The applicant should:

1. Fill in all and only the sections indicated for adaptation grants. If a section is not

relevant for adaptation grants, it is stated as “n/a for Adaptation” and please do not

fill it in.

2. Under point 1.2 “Description of the existing capacity and upgrade/repairs needed”:

- Describe in detail the current state of the capacity, including equipment and

personnel etc. Please note that the current SOPs of the capacity should be

attached to your grant application;

- Please indicate the date the capacity became operational, its lifespan (if

applicable) and the estimated time/period during which the capacity can

technically perform its functions/tasks after the adaptation grant is

completed;

- Under “Need analysis – Works required” describe what is needed for the

capacity to be upgraded and/or repaired to a state of readiness and

availability for international deployment as part of the ECPP and describe

how the needs were identified.

3. Under point 1.3 “European added value” please explain clearly how the EU Civil

Protection Mechanism will benefit from this action.

4. Section 2. “Quality”:

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- Point 2.1 “Concept and methodology”: Please make sure you provide a

detailed description of the approach and methodology that underpin the

project.

- Point 2.2 “Consortium set-up”: Under consortium set-up please describe all

participant(s) (Beneficiaries, Affiliated Entities and Associated Partners, if

any) and their respective roles in the project. Explain how the participants

will work together to implement the project.

- Under point 2.3 “Existing capacities – Previous experience” please describe

the relevant competences of each consortium member in the project to

demonstrate your capacity to implement the action effectively. Provide

information on the type of resources to be involved in the project.

- Under point 2.4 “Project management, quality assurance and monitoring

and evaluation strategy”: please describe in detail measures to ensure high

quality implementation and its monitoring, planning and control.

- Under point 2.5 “Cost effectiveness and financial management” please

describe why your budget is cost effective.

- Under 2.6 “Risk management”: Describe the possible risks, uncertainties

and/or difficulties related to the implementation of your project, and your

measures/strategy for addressing them. Do not forget to fill in the part on

the ownership of the capacity.

5. Section 3. “Impact”:

- Under Point 3.1 “Deployability”, “Technical constraints and limitations”

please describe the geographical coverage and technical constraints and

limitations.

- Under point 3.3 please make sure that you describe in detail the activities

under the planned action to reduce an environmental impact.

- Under point 3.4 “Communication, dissemination and visibility” please

describe in detail the communication, dissemination and visibility

activities. Please make sure the requirements from the call document are

met.

6. Section 4. “Workplan, Work Packages, Activities, Resources and Timing”

- Under point 4.2 “Work packages, activities, resources and timing”, please

also integrate the obligatory deliverables as outlined in the call document

(such as mid-term report including overview on budget spending, and SOPs

and factsheet).

- Please list all the equipment with the detailed description, costs etc. under

Equipment section of the point 4.2 (which must match the listed equipment

in the detailed budget table).

Some general remarks on the submission process

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- Please be aware that information of the abstract/short summary of Part A might be

published.

- Please make sure that the budget table in the application form part A is consistent

with the detailed budget table that you will attach.

- The page limit for Part B is set at 60. Excess pages will be watermarked and

invisible. A warning message is issued only upon submission.

- Editing in several tabs and/or browsers leads to data loss.

- Warnings of the system do not prevent from submission.

- Please observe that the PDF files may not contain:

- Encryption

- Digital signatures

- PDF portfolios

- Links to webpages.

- Please make sure you attach all needed documents, attachments etc.

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN AID OPERATIONS (ECHO) Emergency Response Coordination Centre The Director

Brussels, ECHO.A/MM

ARES e-mail

Addressees: Directors-General for Civil Protection of the Member States and

Participating States to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism,

Members of the Civil Protection Committee

Subject: Invitation to submit applications for the action “European Civil

Protection Pool Upgrade and/or Repair of ECPP Response

Capacities” (UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA)

Dear Directors-General,

I have the pleasure to inform you of the possibility to obtain financial support, in the

form of adaptation grants, under the European Civil Protection Pool.

The objective is to upgrade and/or repair Member States' response capacities to a state of

readiness and availability that makes them internationally deployable under the Union

Civil Protection Mechanism.

The enclosed Call document (and its six annexes) specifies the conditions for awarding

grants, including the exclusion, selection and award criteria.

If you are interested in applying for an adaptation grant, I invite you to prepare and

submit all relevant documents via the Funding & Tenders Portal, which can be accessed

through the following link as from 09 December 2025:

https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/submission/manage/screen/submission/create-

draft/42959?topic=UCPM-2026-ECPP-URC-IBA

The deadline for submitting the grant application is 10 March 2026 at 17:00 CET.

In addition to the information and guidance that you will find in the attached documents

and on the Funding & Tenders Portal, we will organise an online information session on

15 January 2026 from 10:00 to 12:00 (1st part) and from 13.30 to 14.30 (2nd part).

This session will be divided into two parts: The first part is dedicated to operational

aspects of the application followed by a Q&A. The second part will focus on the Funding

& Tenders Portal submission process. All persons interested in attending the session are

invited to contact us at [email protected] to receive the connection details.

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I would be grateful if you could inform all relevant entities dealing with civil protection

in your country of this funding opportunity.

Michela MATUELLA

Contact: [email protected]

Enclosures:

Call document European Civil Protection Pool Adaptation grants (UCPM-2026-ECPP-

URC-IBA), including Annex I – Rules for use of equipment procured under adaptation

grants

Annex II – Commitment letter

Annex III – Average costs of developing the capacities

Annex IV – Application form to ECPP

Annex V - Factsheet

Annex VI – ECPP goals and gaps

Electronically signed

Electronically signed on 08/12/2025 12:00 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121