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eGovernment in the European Union May 2015Name:Policy area:FurtherinformationDescription:Common Emergency Communication and Information System(CECIS)Civil protectionhttp://ec.europa.eu/echo/what/civil-protection/mechanism_enhttps://webgate.ec.testa.eu/cecis/firstScreen.jspThe CECIS aims to protect citizens from natural and technicaldisasters and other hazards by interconnecting relevant authoritiesat European level.The end-users of the CECIS system are the Emergency ResponseCentre Coordination (ERCC) and the National Contact Points (NCPs).The ERCC, operated within ECHO 24/7, has been set up to support acoordinated and quicker response to disasters both inside andoutside Europe using resources from 32 countries participating in theEU Civil Protection Mechanism while also continually monitoring fordisasters. In a major role the ERCC acts as a communication hubbetween the affected countries, resource countries and the expertsin the field through the Common Emergency Communication andInformation System (CECIS) to facilitate day to day and crisescommunications.As of December 2014, the Common Emergency Communication andInformation System (CECIS) operates on two independentapplications: the existing CECIS for civil protection operationscontinues on a secure TESTA network (the European Union's secureTrans European Services for Telematics between Administrationsnetwork) and the newly launched internet-based system will bededicated to marine pollution incidents. The new system will allowfor quick communication between MS' coast guards and marinepollution authorities in the event of major disasters at sea andcontain a database of available response capacities. CECIS MarinePollution will be open to all Member States as well as the coastalstates in the EU Neighbourhood that are part of the regional seaconventions.Although built on the same concept, the new application ismodernized and adapted to the specific maritime needs. Later thisyear it will be linked also to SafeSeaNet, a system managed by theEuropean Maritime Safety Agency for reporting maritime incidents inthe EU.[46]