Redefining the civil protection in the European Union

As part of the national security system, the civil protection represents a unique management system of organizational, technical, economic and social activities aimed at protecting and saving people, material and cultural assets and the environment, from natural, technical-technological, war and other threats. For a long time, civil protection was understood as part of the policy of "internal security" and was strongly associated with the idea of the inviolability of national sovereignty. Different concepts have been developed at the national level depending on the political system of the country, its capacities, threat perception and historical experience, with the aim of creating an optimal population protection system. The consequences of major natural and anthropogenic disasters have contributed to a change in the understanding of civil protection as a system of exclusive national interest, and cross-border risks and threats have improved international cooperation and coordination on that front. The aim of this paper is to collect relevant scientific theses and research results to encourage further discussion on the future of civil protection. The results of the work should indicate the fact that civil protection is still an important area of national sovereignty. Also, it should point to the necessity of its redefinition and that the European Union civil protection mission speaks for the entire EU project and is one of the most tangible instruments of European solidarity and the process of disaster risk reduction.