Helping evacuate Europeans from Libya

On 23 February 2011, Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi, on behalf of the Council's rotating Presidency, activated the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM) to speed up repatriation of Europeans from Libya.

© Fotolia

The reason for the activation of the CPM was a request for EU assistance from member states, especially for transport aid from Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya, where the airport cannot be used and the evacuation must take place by sea.

Member states can turn to the CPM, created in 2001, if they need civil protection support in the event of major emergencies.

More information:
Hungarian Presidency website: Evacuation of EU citizens
European Civil Protection