Evacuation exercise of nationals in the absence of a common concept
(B2) The Ministers of Defense failed to really agree, on November 10, on a concept for the evacuation of European nationals, using military means. While most states agree, others (such as Italy, for example) do not seem convinced of the need to study a European concept and to make common use of military means.
The idea is however simple, as Hervé Morin explained during the Council of Defense Ministers of the EU: "As soon as a crisis is known (natural or human), it is a question of having a coordination of the means, regrouping points, and determine pilot countries according to the country where the crisis takes place". This in order "to avoid any delays and obstacles to evacuation". Germany had indicated in Deauville that it was ready to play this role for Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
This device should be tested in full size in a few days. France will thus organize on December 1 to 5 in Vouziers (Marne), an air base projection exercise (Bapex), with the participation of Europeans, which could be an opportunity to test the national evacuation system. The scenario is based on a natural disaster (earthquake) in a troubled context (industrial risks, political instability, terrorist risk)... with the establishment of a Center for the regrouping and evacuation of nationals (CRER).
(NGV)
2 blogs have been created for the BAPEX08 exercise:
http://bapex08-fr.over-blog.com in French and
http://bapex08-gb.over-blog.com en anglais