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European Commissioner Christos Stylianides participated at "the Earthquake 2018" national exercise
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management European Commissioner Christos Stylianides stated that "the Earthquake 2018" national exercise (the exercise simulating an earthquake in Romania, measuring plus 7.5 degrees on the Richter scale) represents another great example of European solidarity.
The senior European official said it is great to be in Romania for this exercise, adding that he believes this exercise to be one of the largest ever organised in the EU, in terms of emergency medical teams. Christos Stylianides went on saying that for the European institutions, as well as for the European Commission, this exercise is a great example of what it's called a Europe that protects. Through this exercise, due to the variety of participants and because of the fact that there are more then 12 EU member states and, of course, some neighboring countries, the simulation exercise represents another great example of European solidarity, the European Commissioner told a joint press statement with head of the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU) Raed Arafat at the headquarters of the 70th Engineering Centre.
Stylianides stated that there is a need for something concrete, concrete actions for tangible results in order to show that European solidarity doesn't represent just empty words. He added that this is the perfect example of the work that we can do together, because when dealing with natural disasters we must take action together.
În his opinion, the disasters are becoming more and more severe and frequent due to climate change and, for these reasons, Europe must deal with the new challenges today.
The European Commissioner underscored the wish to strengthen the response capacity to natural disasters, adding that after this exercise, the rescue teams will be better prepared to deal with natural disasters.
The "EU ModEX 2018" international exercise, focused on coordinating and collaborating medical modules, started on Sunday evening and completes "the Earthquake 2018" national exercise.