Amid geopolitical risks, the European Commission (EC) is proposing that EU countries create emergency stockpiles of critical minerals and cable repair kits for the bloc.
The EU wants to create reserves of critical resources
— The EU faces an increasingly complex and worsening risk landscape characterised by rising geopolitical tensions, including conflicts, the growing impact of climate change, environmental degradation, and hybrid and cyber threats, the European Commission said in a draft document outlining its stockpiling strategy, the newspaper writes. Financial Times.
As the EC notes, EU member states must coordinate reserve stocks of food, medicine, and even nuclear fuel.
In addition, the EC will accelerate work on EU-level stockpiles of items such as cable repair modules “to ensure rapid recovery following disruptions to energy or optical cables” and goods such as rare earth elements and magnets, which are critical for energy and defence systems.
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It is noted that the strategy is part of the EU's broader efforts to improve the security and resilience of the 27-nation bloc.
Last month, the Inspector General of the German Armed Forces, General Carsten Breuer, warned that Russia could attack an EU member state within the next four years.
The EC's draft document is due to be published next week and could still change before it is presented.
