The overall objective of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism is to strengthen cooperation between EU Member States and the 7 Participating States, (Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Turkey) in the field of civil protection with the aim of improving prevention, preparedness and response to disasters. When a disaster overwhelms a country´s ability to contain it, other states step in and provide assistance.
The Union Civil Protection Mechanism runs an active and comprehensive training programme offering experts from all over Europe to participate in courses from basic training to high-level sessions for future missions leaders. This training is held in various European countries and number of Icelandic civil protection experts have participated in these courses. The Icelandic Civil Protection (NCIP) has been involved in running a course called Operational Management Course (OPM) which is regarded as the cornerstone of the training programme. The focus of the course lies on facilitating coordination and learning how key partners collaborate on an operational level.
Currently an OPM course is held in Iceland with the participation of 20 experts from all over Europe and involved in the training are international team of trainers, lecturers and actors. The course will be held in Reykjavik, Keflavik and Hveragerði.