News item | 06-12-2022 | 14:17
How do we ensure that crisis management in the Netherlands remains future-proof? Today, the Minister of Justice and Security presented the outline memorandum on Strengthening Crisis Management and Fire Service, the National Crisis Management Handbook and the framework for modernizing state emergency law to the House of Representatives. These plans show how parties in the crisis domain will work together in the coming years.
In recent years, the Netherlands has gained a lot of experience with complex (crises) situations, such as COVID-19, the reception of displaced Ukrainians, or the wildfire in De Peel. Much has gone well, at all levels.
But society is changing at a rapid pace. Contemporary crises are increasingly complex and cross-border. This requires extra effort and reinforcement of our system. Various studies, evaluations and experiences in recent years have also shown this. The Muller Committee evaluated the Security Regions Act in 2020 and says that the Netherlands must be better prepared for the disasters and crises of the future and that an improvement is necessary in the cooperation between regions, crisis partners and central government in tackling interregional and (inter) national crises.
That is why, as an elaboration of the outline memorandum, an action and legislative program is now starting to realize the plans and ambitions. All phases of crisis management, from preparation to post-phase, are anchored in law. So that our system of crisis management and fire service remains well prepared for changes and threats in the future.
Outline memorandum strengthening crisis management and fire services
The outline memorandum outlines how the organizational structure and cooperation are strengthened in the event of interregional, national and international risks and crises. The starting point is to operate as one government, regardless of geographical or organizational boundaries, and to limit the negative consequences of crises as much as possible. That is why there will be one nationwide system for crisis management, including a coordination node between the Regions and the State, the so-called KCR2.
The fire service is an important pivot in the system of incident response, disaster response and crisis management. The fire service of the future must be prepared for new (major) incidents with an impact outside its own security region. The floods in Limburg and the experiences with recent wildfires show the importance of a fire service that operates across regional boundaries. The aim is for a future-proof fire service with sufficient capacity and strength to cope with large-scale and new incident types in addition to high-quality local and regional basic fire service. With a good legal basis. In addition, structural cooperation with the other crisis partners, such as the police, water boards, Defence, industrial fire brigades, the Netherlands Rescue Brigade and the environmental accident service of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) is also being pursued.
MCCb Decree and Crisis Management Handbook
The new Decision MCCb and the National Crisis Management Handbook replace the outdated versions from 2016. They record the changes that have been implemented on the basis of lessons, experiences and recommendations from evaluations (such as a corona crisis approach) and describe the current, standing practice in situations with a supra-regional and national impact . In doing so, it is essential to pay explicit attention to possible and expected broad social consequences, particularly for vulnerable groups, the implementation practice, the enforceability, the financial feasibility and the explainability of any measures. That is why the approach and the organization of crisis management have been focused from the outset on intensive and flexible cooperation with local governments, government services and involved public and private partners, as constituent parts of a nationwide system.
For example, upon invitation, a mayor, chairman of the security region or chairman of another public body can participate in meetings with an advisory vote. Other operational partners and subject matter experts can also participate as advisors. Think of the police and Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, armed forces, intelligence and security services, private partners such as providers of vital processes or knowledge institutes or knowledge networks.
Framework for modernization of emergency law
Recent events, such as the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic and the influx of displaced persons from Ukraine, have shown how important it is for the government to be able to fall back on (state) emergency and crisis law in times of need. However, the state emergency law is outdated in many respects, which means that it is necessary to carefully examine whether the state emergency law is still in line with current and future threats. This is also apparent from an unsolicited advice from the Council of State. She recommends a substantive modernization of crisis and emergency law, in conjunction with developments aimed at strengthening crisis management and fire services.
The whole of (state) emergency and crisis legislation is very extensive. The government therefore applies phasing and prioritization in the modernization and reorganization of (state) emergency and crisis law. The letter ‘framework modernization of state emergency law’ outlines a clear and unambiguous framework that can be used as a guideline. With the proposed framework, the government wants to create more clarity and certainty for society about the way in which (state) emergency and crisis law is regulated in the European and Caribbean Netherlands. It is also important to identify missing emergency powers and/or emergency legislation in the context of the government-wide security strategy that will be sent to the House in the first quarter of 2023.