Major disagreements emerge over civil protection reform

Major disagreements emerged in parliament on Thursday during the opening discussion of a proposed overhaul and consolidation of the civil protection and crisis management systems. Under the proposed legislation, a unified national structure would be created for civil protection and crisis management. The reform aims to replace fragmented agency operations with a centralised operations centre and a common strategic response plan for man-made and natural disasters – such as wildfires, floods, and earthquakes. The envisioned overhaul covers the full crisis cycle – prevention, early warning, deployment and the aftermath. The interior ministry would be renamed to ‘Ministry of Interior and Civil Protection’, with the creation within it of a dedicated directorate for civil protection. In addition, the position of permanent secretary for civil protection would be created within the ministry. A key element is the establishment of a National Civil Protection Mechanism and Coordinator. Reports indicated that the government has earmarked former National Guard chief Georgios Tzitzikostas for the position of Coordinator, who will hold exclusive authority over deploying and positioning crisis forces regardless of department. The fire department, currently under the justice ministry, would be transferred to the new structure. A proposal to also move the forestry department has been temporarily shelved after opposition from staff; for the time being, the forestry department would remain under the agriculture ministry. In addition, a permanent scientific council for civil protection would be set up to guide risk analysis. Presenting the legislation’s broad strokes, the interior ministry’s permanent secretary Elikkos Elia said the aim is to create “a permanent, statutory and comprehensive civil protection system that could be activated for every major crisis and for all the threats against the government”. He said the Coordinator of the National Civil Protection Mechanism would have overall operational command of the forces deployed in a crisis. “The objective is a national civil protection system that can better pre-empt, prepare on time, and mobilise available resources, reacting decisively whenever needed and effectively mitigating the consequences of a disaster.” An official with the attorney-general’s office explained that the Coordinator would be activated only once a civil protection situation is declared. Inevitably, differences of opinion arose over jurisdiction but also the philosophy of the proposed reform. The defence ministry instead favours the creation of a national crisis management mechanism coming under the cabinet, and the simultaneous establishment of a permanent national crisis management centre. This centre would tackle all matters – including for example, hybrid threats and cybersecurity. Fire chief Nikos Longinos, though supporting the concept of civil protection, opined that operational status should be determined by “people in the field”. Representatives of the ambulance services meanwhile sought clarification as to whether paramedics would be conscripted as National Guard reservists whenever a crisis situation is in effect, or whether they’d remain on standby at the hospitals. Regarding funding, Giorgos Karayiannis, an official with the finance ministry, said a budget for the new system has been drafted. However, if the legislation does not get the nod by year’s end, a supplementary budget would be tabled in June 2027. Under the bills, the transition to the new system would not occur automatically. MPs queried government officials as to how long the transition period might take, but got no clear answer. Another issue raised related to the person who would be appointed Coordinator for civil protection matters. Alma MP Michalis Paraskeva said the selected individual should come from the civil service, meet certain objective criteria, and not be “reliant” on the political leadership of the day. Regarding the differences between the involved ministries, the respective ministers – of justice, defence and the interior – would hold talks in the coming weeks in a bid to find common ground. Akel MP Aristos Damianou, who chairs the House interior committee, said that given these material differences within the government, normally the administration should withdraw the bills and re-table them amended. But, he added, the committee decided to “give time to dialogue.” The article-by-article discussion of the bills will get underway at subsequent sessions of the committee. Major natural disasters requiring mass mobilisation of resources included the forest fires in Solea in 2016, at Arakapas in 2021, and the blaze tearing through Limassol’s mountainous areas in the summer of 2025.