La minaccia NBCR - Istituto Affari Internazionali

At the executive level, an Interministerial Emergency Committee (Comitato Interministeriale
per le Emergenze - CIE) could be set up, composed of representatives of the Ministers
making up the CME and chaired by the SSE, with the support of the Chief of the Civil
Protection Department. Depending on needs, even the SSE could invite representatives of
other administrations to the meetings. The representatives should be appointed directly by the
respective Ministers, regardless of their formal positions. It is crucial, in fact, that they be
able to act with the authority that comes from being able to interface directly with the
competent Minister and with the autonomy that derives from this. The CIE should meet and
act in different forms, depending on the emergency, with regular meetings aimed at planning
the necessary activities of prevention and training, including simulations, of all bodies
potentially involved and acquiring an adequate level of experience in the management of
emergencies.
The new structure, which would take over command and control in the event of a CBRN
emergency, would favour the permanent development of a common substrate of language,
praxis, exchange of information, arrangements, technical-operational standards, training and
exercises between agencies that have different histories and competences, and would benefit
the optimum functioning of the system. More generally, it would be a tool for planning and
verifying government policies.
It is impossible to predict when and how a CBRN event will take place. Yet, to prepare the
country for such an event is a necessity and a duty which has to be tackled, unless we want to
risk devastating consequences.
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