Mission
“To coordinate the national effort to organise, plan and prepare the State's strategic sectors, increasing national resilience to resist and recover from crisis situations, in order to ensure the freedom and continuity of government action, the regular functioning of essential State services and the security and well-being of the populatio” (approved on 26.Sep.2023 - SEPC)
Responsibilities
Article 6 of Decree-Law No. 43/2020, of 21 July:
The CNPCE has the following responsibilities:
a) To contribute to the definition of national civil emergency planning policy and propose the respective national strategy;
b) To coordinate civil emergency planning;
c) Drawing up general guidelines for civil emergency planning, with a view to meeting civil needs and providing civil support to the Armed Forces;
d) Drawing up specific guidelines for the adaptation of public entities and services to crisis situations;
e) Establishing emergency planning committees;
f) Assess the draft plans drawn up by the emergency planning committees and submit them to the Government for approval;
g) Identify the public or private entities that should carry out missions related to civil emergency planning, promoting and supporting studies for their adaptation to crisis situations;
h) Monitor the implementation of legislation, guidelines and plans relating to civil emergency planning, and may request any public or private entities to provide the necessary information and clarifications, as well as issue any recommendations it deems appropriate;
i) Request the collaboration of public or private entities or specialists in the preparation of studies and information;
j) Promote the dissemination of information and clarification to the population on matters related to civil emergency planning;
k) Submit proposals for legislation in the field of civil emergency planning;
l) Identify, designate and promote the resilience and protection of critical infrastructure located in national territory, under the terms provided for in specific legislation;
m) Promote and verify, through the sub-register, the accreditation of Portuguese citizens who, in the area of civil emergency planning, should have access to classified information;
n) Give opinions or provide information on all matters requested by the Government.
The CNPCE also has the following responsibilities at the level of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO):
a) To assess relevant documents and information presented to the NATO Civil Emergency Planning Committee (CEPC);
b) To commission studies from emergency planning committees and the competent public entities and services for this purpose;
c) To establish the rules for the identification and preparation of national representatives and technicians appointed to NATO's civil emergency planning agencies;
d) Manage the operation of the sub-registry, namely the registration, control, distribution, archiving and destruction of classified information, in compliance with the security standards issued by the National Security Authority and the international organisations of which Portugal is a member.
Composition
The CNPCE has the following composition:
President (inherently the President of ANEPC)
Vice-Chairman
A representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces;
A representative of the Regional Government of the Azores;
A representative of the Regional Government of Madeira;
A representative of the Secretary General of the Internal Security System;
A representative of the National Maritime Authority;
A representative of the National Republican Guard;
A representative of the Public Security Police;
A representative of the member of the Government responsible for finance;
A representative of the National Institute of Medical Emergency, I. P.;
A representative of the Portuguese Environment Agency, I.P.;
The chairmen of the emergency planning committees.
Crisis situations
In crisis situations, the vice-president and sectoral coordinators of the CNPCE are integrated into bodies supporting the Prime Minister, under the terms of the Constitution and the law. The same principle applies to the staff of the emergency planning committees, in relation to their respective areas of responsibility (article 18 of Decree-Law 43/2020, of 21 July).
