Rescue Borealis will gather rescue services, health and social services, and other partners to work together in response to threat scenarios involving chemical (C), biological (B), radiological (R) and/or nuclear (N) elements. The theme was chosen to align with the two EU-maintained stockpiles, rescEU CBRN and rescEU Medical, which are located in Finland.
As the authorities will be cooperating across borders, the exercise will evaluate the ease of providing and receiving both information and assistance among the various authorities. Through the exercise, authorities will be able to learn from each other and share their best practices.
The exercise is organized by the Finnish Ministry of Interior, Finland’s rescEU stockpiling projects and the Rescue Department of North Ostrobothnia. Rescue Borealis is the successor to Barents Rescue exercises, but Russia will not be part of this new form of cooperation.
Similar to the previous Barents Rescue exercises, the new Rescue Borealis exercise with Finland, Norway and Sweden is connected to the Joint Committee on Rescue Cooperation, a working group under the Barents Euro-Arctic Council. Through the Euro-Arctic Council, the countries have agreed to organize and participate in joint rescue exercises, currently organized every third year.
