A worrying scenario. Prepare for 3 days without electricity and water

• The Preparedness Union was designed to strengthen Europe's capacity to counter new threats.
• The EU is promoting specific actions, such as providing basic supplies.
• The urgent challenge for Europe is to increase both civilian and military preparedness.

- New realities require a new level of preparedness in Europe. Our citizens, our Member States and our businesses need the right tools to act both to prevent crises and to react quickly in the event of a natural disaster - said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, quoted in the press release.

To this end, the EC has launched the Preparedness Union Strategy to support Member States and increase Europe's capacity to prevent and respond to emerging threats . The strategy includes 30 key actions.

New Recommendation: Keep 72-Hour Supplies at Home

The main objectives and actions of the strategy include:

• encouraging society to adopt practical measures, such as maintaining basic supplies for at least 72 hours in case of emergency;
• integrating preparedness lessons into school curricula and introducing an EU Preparedness Day;
• development of minimum readiness criteria for essential services such as hospitals, schools, transport and telecommunications;
• improving stockpiling of critical equipment and materials;
• conducting regular EU-wide exercises in the field of preparedness, unification of armed forces, civil protection, police, security, health workers and firefighters;
• facilitating investment in dual-use products.

The special report on civilian and military preparedness prepared by Sauli Niinistö clearly showed that increasing Europe's civilian and military preparedness is an urgent matter.

The report calls for a profound change in thinking and the way we understand and prioritize preparedness across the European Union. It also recognizes that preparedness is not just a national responsibility, but a common European endeavor requiring a stronger role for the Union in coordinating and supporting Member States in this area, we read.

The Communication states that by working closely with Member States, the Union is able to face future crises and can provide citizens and societies with relevant and effective solutions.