The European Commission has proposed that EU countries create reserves of food, medicine, fuel and uninterruptible power supplies by 2026 in case of a new pandemic, war or natural disasters.
EU Strategy: What is known about potential threats
As part of the strategy, EU officials are already developing recommendations for governments on emergency preparedness. The measures are aimed at protecting the population from chemical, nuclear and biological threats.
Finland, Estonia and the Czech Republic have already created state stockpiles of essential goods.
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The initiative was a response to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, during which many EU countries faced an acute shortage of medical supplies.
The commission plans to establish a center by 2026 that will coordinate the procurement and distribution of vital goods. It will also create a list of priority drugs and medical technologies that are subject to stockpiling.
Another area is wastewater monitoring, which will act as an early detection system for infectious diseases before the first symptoms appear.
There are also plans to increase the number of firefighting aircraft, given the increase in the number of forest fires, particularly near Marseille, where rescuers are battling the blaze.
“Threats are not a hypothesis, they are a reality. We are facing hybrid attacks, power outages, diseases and weather disasters. This is why preparedness is becoming a key element of European defence,” stressed Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib.
This position was also supported by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who stated that Russia poses a real danger to Europe in the coming years.
