Brussels hosts major EU disaster response exercise
Brussels is hosting a European civil protection exercise for the first time this week. EU Modex 2026 brings together around 60 participants from 18 countries to tackle simulated severe flooding that causes major disruption to critical infrastructure and overwhelms the emergency services.
In the scenario, saturated retention basins and blocked drainage systems lead to severe flooding in Brussels City, Ixelles, Anderlecht and Forest. The emergency services struggle to respond due to capacity and communication issues and the authorities activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism. European assistance arrives the following day.
Co-funded by the EU, the exercise brings together operational teams, crisis coordination experts, trainers, assessors and institutional representatives. European search and rescue, emergency medical teams and cultural heritage protection services are also involved.
“This exercise is important because it marks a real shift in mindset,” said Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Crisis Management. “We need to train and anticipate rather than merely reacting to disasters when they occur. Belgium has benefited from this European mechanism just as much as it has contributed to it.”
The European Civil Protection Mechanism applies to the 27 EU member states, as well as 10 other countries, including Norway, Iceland, Türkiye and Ukraine. Belgium activated the mechanism for the first time during the flooding of July 2021, in which 39 people died.
“Talking about risks is not the same as spreading panic,” Lahbib said. According to a recent Eurobarometer survey, many Europeans would like to be better informed about the potential risks the continent may face and how to prepare for them.
“Organising this exercise in Brussels allows us to test our ability to work with our international partners in conditions close to reality,” says Sophie Lavaux, director general of security agency safe.brussels.
Police officers search the rubble in Pepinster, near Liège, following heavy rains and flooding across Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, July 2021 © PHOTO JOHN THYS / AFP / © BELGA VIDEO JEROME FETU
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