LAW ON SECURITY REGIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS

JAZIĆ dr Aleksandar (Институт за међународну политику и привреду, Београд), jazic@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs

Emergency situations are frequently happening and require a high level of preparedness in order to respond quickly and efficiently. The Netherlands has regulated its activities in emergency situations in the form of security regions. In the Netherlands, there is a high level of autonomy of the local self-government units, so their inclusion in the security regions is very simple. The establishment of the security regions refers exclusively to the operation of relevant entities in emergency situations in a given territory. The security regions are some type of organization whose members, in addition to the local self-government units, are subjects whose primary activity is an emergency response. The main participants in the security regions in the Netherlands are representatives of local self-government. The security regions do not jeopardize the system of local self-government in the Netherlands, but overlap with that system and cover the other sphere. The system of local selfgovernment in the Netherlands and the security regions cover different areas of the functioning of the state. It is a form of local self-government in the field of emergency situations. These two systems are merged through the units of local self-government and their competencies. The inclusion of the local self-government units in the security regions affects the design of these regions in accordance with the needs of a particular territory. At the same time, the division of work among the relevant entities is carried out in accordance with their capacities to increase efficiency. Each security region formulates its goals separately but also coordinates with other security regions. It may happen that an emergency situation hit two or more regions, so it is important that there is mutual cooperation. Carriers of activities in the field of security in these regions are emergency services, like the firefighting-rescue units, police and emergency services. The most important role is played by the firefightingrescue units because of the areas they cover in their regular activities and the knowledge they possess.

Keywords: emergency situations, crises, catastrophes, natural disasters, the Netherlands, local self-government, municipalities, regions, emergency services, firefighting-rescue units