Montenegro to Host ECUREX 2026 International Exercise to Strengthen Preparedness for Radiological and Nuclear Emergencies

Montenegro is part of the ECURIE system, which connects 33 countries—all 27 European Union member states and six other European countries—as well as the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. This year, it is hosting the ECUREX 2026 international exercise, focused on strengthening preparedness and improving the response to radiological and nuclear emergencies. “I expect the Ministry, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, together with the 112 Operations and Communications Centre and other competent institutions, to use this opportunity to test their readiness and improve cooperation,” said Vitomirović. Tamara Đurović, Head of the Directorate for Environmental Improvement, said that the European ECURIE system enables urgent notification and the exchange of relevant data between national contact points, particularly when an incident may have cross-border consequences. She highlighted the importance of the fact that the ECURIE and USIE systems are software-linked, adding that this year’s exercise is distinctive because, for the first time in such a scenario, international radiological notification and requests for assistance through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism will be practised together. “The exercise is organised by two European Commission directorates-general: the Directorate-General for Energy (DG ENER) and the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO),” Đurović said. For me, the essential indicator of preparedness is that a clear, documented and verifiable flow of information can be tracked from the first international notification through the expert assessment to the proposed course of action.