Civil protection

The civil protection system is an integral part of the national security system, which forms the basis for an efficient and comprehensive functioning of the national protection system, ensuring coordination between civil and military authorities, coordination of resources and capacity harmonisation. It is important to note the implementation of the essential requirements of NATO in the civilian sector by providing critical services to the population and civil support for military operations. The civil protection system must ensure the basic needs of the population in the event of both peace and war, military invasion or threats.

The National Civil Protection Plan, approved in 2020, establishes the competence and action of disaster management entities in the implementation of disaster management measures - prevention, preparedness, response and mitigation measures relating to national and regional disasters or disaster threats, as well as providing support to the national protection system and determining the functioning of the civil protection system in cases, if there has been a military invasion or a war has begun.

The operation of the civil protection system in the case of war, military invasion or threat thereof shall be organised by an operational control centre for civil protection, the activities and analytical capabilities of which need to be improved, and shall be regularly tested in crisis management training. The operational management centre for civil protection should cooperate with the NAF, including the State institutions, economic operators and civil protection commissions of local governments.

It is necessary to realise that the public authorities do not have the full opportunity to ensure the protection of all citizens in the first hours of the crisis or war, or even in days. This means that each individual assumes responsibility for themselves, their families and families during the initial crisis or war. It is the responsibility of the State to offer the public specific self-organising models so that citizens can know and act in accordance with their beliefs, but the main task of the population is to be able to self-organise and overcome individual phases of crisis or war.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Defence, in cooperation with other institutions and organisations, has developed and provided the public with a brochure entitled “How to proceed in the event of a crisis” aimed at helping every citizen better prepare for potential crisis situations. In order to strengthen the capacity and preparedness of local governments to respond to crisis situations, including in the event of war or military threats, the Ministry of Defence, in cooperation with the National Guard, has launched training for civil protection commissions of municipalities in 2020. The training takes place in a variety of situations where civil protection commissions have to assess, address risks and define a response plan to provide a community with basic needs in the event of military conflict.

At the same time, a voluntary willingness to participate in national protection by carrying out civil protection activities and by performing separate functions is not least important. The possibility of ensuring voluntary involvement of interested parties, such as the State Fire and Rescue Service as a volunteer firefighter, should be evaluated.

At the summit of, 27 NATO Heads of State and Government met in July 2016 in Warsaw, Poland, where it was agreed to continue to improve the civilian and military resilience of the Member States, as well as to achieve the essential requirements for the resilience of NATO's 7 civilian sector. The development of NATO's civilian resilience capacity is part of the implementation of national defence objectives, and it is therefore necessary to ensure a comprehensive approach to the implementation of these essential requirements.