{"id":422684,"date":"2025-03-26T16:45:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T15:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2025\/03\/26\/strategia-preparazione-ue-2030\/"},"modified":"2025-03-26T18:33:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T17:33:03","slug":"commission-train-citizens-to-survive-the-first-72-hours-of-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2025\/03\/26\/commission-train-citizens-to-survive-the-first-72-hours-of-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Commission, “Train citizens to survive the first 72 hours of crisis”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – The European Union must be ready to overcome the next crises<\/strong>. Whatever kind they may be, wherever they may strike. That, in a nutshell, is the meaning of the Strategy on Preparedness<\/strong> by which the EU executive aims to “train” member states and their populations<\/strong> to respond in an orderly manner\u00a0in different potential crisis scenarios<\/strong>, from wars to natural disasters, in the name of a concept of security as holistic as possible.<\/p>\n

The Preparedness Union Strategy<\/i><\/strong> presented today<\/a> (March 26) by Roxana M\u00eenzatu<\/strong>, executive vice-president of the Commission with responsibility for, among other things, Preparedness, and by the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib<\/strong>, is the EU’s attempt to become resilient for whatever kind of crisis<\/strong> may hit it: wars, pandemics, extreme weather events, natural disasters, cyber-attacks, disinformation operations, sabotage and hybrid actions of various kinds, to mention a few. It is the first tangible product to emerge from the meeting of the so-called “Security College” launched earlier this month<\/a> by Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Roxana<\/a>
The European Commission’s executive vice-president with responsibility for Social Rights, Labour and Preparedness Roxana M\u00eenzatu\u00a0 (photo: Alain Rolland\/EP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Underlying the strategy\u2014a set of guidelines that effectively constitutes an elaboration of the report prepared last Autumn<\/a> by former Finnish President Sauli Niinist\u00f6<\/strong>\u2014is the belief that the Old Continent’s approach must shift from reactive to proactive<\/strong>, since, on balance, prevention is better than cure<\/strong>. And the realization that, in the complex and volatile landscape of contemporary security, risks and threats are now interconnected<\/strong>. In short, an “insurance policy” for the Union, as M\u00eenzatu called it.<\/p>\n

The Commission’s vision is guided by three principles: an intersectoral approach<\/strong> that applies to all types of risk (all-hazards approach), one that coordinates together all relevant actors and authorities<\/strong> at any level of government from local to community (whole-of-government approach), and one that leverages supportive action among various segments of society<\/strong>: city communities, civil society organizations, private businesses and entities, social partners, academic and scientific communities as well as public authorities (whole-of-society approach).<\/p>\n

At the organizational level, the milestone of the whole plan is coordination<\/strong> between the various actors, levels and parts of the social body,\u00a0and\u00a0between Brussels and the Twenty-seven<\/strong>, as happened in managing<\/span>\u00a0the pandemic crisis or the war in Ukraine.\u00a0It is understood that, as also pointed out by the Commission’s Executive Vice-President in charge of Cohesion, Raffaele Fitto<\/strong>, each member state and each region of the EU faces “very different challenges and potential risks<\/strong>” (from the Russian threat in the East to the consequences of climate change in the Mediterranean basin).<\/p>\n

\"Raffaele<\/a>
The Executive Vice President of the European Commission with responsibility for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto (photo: Philippe Buissin\/EP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Concretely, the strategy is structured around seven main chapters<\/strong>\u00a0divided into several key actions<\/strong>. Overall, the total number of specific actions<\/strong> identified by the EU executive exceeds sixty. And all of them are to be integrated horizontally<\/strong> into every aspect and phase of EU policymaking<\/strong>, from design to implementation.<\/p>\n

There is the protection of “essential social functions<\/strong>” (which includes the protection of critical infrastructure and the storage of critical materials and equipment), the promotion of population preparedness<\/strong> (including through schooling, to instil in the population\u00a0a “culture of resilience<\/strong>“), the improvement of coordination in crisis response<\/strong>, strengthening both civilian-military cooperation<\/strong> and public-private synergies<\/strong>, as well as that with external partners<\/strong> (primarily NATO allies), and enhancing forecasting and anticipation capabilities and tools<\/strong> (including early warning mechanisms and a series of periodic comprehensive risk and threat assessments<\/strong> at the European level, the first of which should be completed by the end of 2026).<\/p>\n

For example, among the recommendations that have garnered the most media attention are those related to a kind of “survival kit<\/strong>” – a set of basic necessities (from food and medical supplies to batteries and longwave radios) with which each citizen should be able to survive “for at least 72 hours” in the event of a crisis<\/strong>\u2014as well as those related to the construction of aircraft shelters<\/strong> to protect from attacks, both inspired by similar measures recently discussed in several Nordic countries and beyond.<\/p>\n

\n

Today, the EU launches its new #Preparedness<\/a> Strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cReady for anything\u201d \u2014 this must be our new European way of life. Our motto and #hashtag<\/a>. pic.twitter.com\/fA1z8ZvMDA<\/a><\/p>\n

– Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) March 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Berlaymont aims to introduce a new Crisis Coordination Center<\/strong>, modelled after the Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC<\/strong>), while also aiming to strengthen the Civil Protection Mechanism<\/strong> (EUCPM), the Union’s emergency instrument through which relief efforts are coordinated across the continent both inside and outside the EU. M\u00eenzatu and Lahbib reiterated, however, that “we are not starting from scratch” but that it will mainly be a matter of giving coherence to already existing instruments<\/strong> that have been activated at various times in recent years to respond to specific needs<\/strong> but that can overall contribute to the Union’s security in a broad and holistic sense.<\/p>\n

More vague, finally, is the aspect concerning funding<\/strong>. EU sources stressed that it is too early to talk about precise figures<\/strong>: this will be discussed when negotiations for the next multi-year budget 2028\u20132034<\/strong> begin, that is, not before July.<\/p>\n

The reactions from European political forces were not long in coming. Renew’s liberals<\/strong> \u2014who had specifically asked the Commission to draft a “comprehensive guide” on crisis preparedness<\/strong> and distribute it to EU households\u2014hailed the EU initiative as a first step to increase\u00a0citizens’ security<\/strong> and strengthen solidarity between member states<\/strong>. Also according to the Popular People’s Party (EPP)<\/strong>, with today’s Strategy, Europe equips itself with the “strategic foresight<\/strong> necessary” to navigate this difficult historical phase.<\/p>\n

Bitter criticism, however, has come from the ranks of the 5-Star Movement<\/strong>. The M5s delegation in the EU Parliament points the finger at what it brands as “pure psychological terrorism<\/strong>” by a “war-mongering Commission<\/strong>.” A plan that, the five-star elected officials argue, “risks fueling a spiral of violence and fear that must instead come to an end.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 12-star executive presented some 60 specific actions and precise guidelines that the Twenty-Seven should follow to make their societies more resilient and ready to respond effectively to any adverse event, natural or military<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7876,"featured_media":422680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[30809],"tags":[30853,29676,30081,25745,28323],"class_list":["post-422684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-defence-security","tag-strategy-preparation-ue-en","tag-raphael-fitto","tag-roxana-minzatu-en","tag-safety-en","tag-hadja-lahbib-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7876"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422684"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":422714,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422684\/revisions\/422714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}