What is it?
The EU is strengthening its ability to anticipate, prevent and respond to growing threats – from geopolitical tensions and cyberattacks to climate change, health crises and natural hazards.
To do this, the European Commission adopted the preparedness union strategy in March 2025. The goal is to make Europe better prepared for future crises so that authorities, organisations and citizens can act quickly and effectively when emergencies occur.
The strategy is built on 3 core approaches:
Why preparedness matters
Crises are becoming more frequent, complex and interconnected. A shock in one area – such as energy, health, security or the environment – can rapidly spill over into others.
The Niinistö report on EU preparedness and readiness warned that Europe must urgently strengthen both civilian and military preparedness in areas such as:
health, migration, technology security, climate, defence and the economy.
It called for a new mindset, where preparedness is seen not only as a national duty but as a shared European responsibility.
- protect people’s lives and health:
including through better planning for health emergencies and natural hazards
- safeguard vital services:
such as energy, transport, digital networks, food, water and other critical resources
- defend democracy:
against cyberthreats and information manipulation
- support the economy:
so businesses and public services can withstand shocks
- adapt to climate change:
by planning for more frequent and severe climate‑related events
Recent EU responses – for example to the COVID‑19 pandemic and repatriation efforts during the Middle East escalation in early 2026 – showed that close cooperation between the EU and EU countries leads to better outcomes for people and communities.
How the EU is taking action
One year after the preparedness union strategy was adopted, the EU has delivered on key commitments. These include:
Ensuring essential supplies
The EU stockpiling and medical countermeasures strategies help secure vital goods and medical items when crises occur. The new EU stockpiling network brings together national stockpiling authorities so EU countries can coordinate assistance and deliver supplies where they are most needed.
Strengthening crisis response
The revision of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism aims to improve coordinated responses to health emergencies and civil protection challenges. It strengthens the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) through the creation of the EU Crisis Coordination Hub, which anticipates threats, shares information and coordinates across sectors. It also reinforces rescEU reserves to boost the EU’s joint response capacity.
Promoting a culture of preparedness
Preparedness is now a priority in youth programmes such as the European Solidarity Corps, with closer links between young people and civil protection organisations. The EU is supporting national civil protection authorities with risk communication, awareness‑raising, and guidance on 72‑hour household self‑sufficiency. Preparedness topics are being integrated into early childhood and primary school education.
Addressing climate and environmental risks
The European water resilience strategy, works to restore and protect the water cycle, secure clean and affordable water for all, and support a sustainable, resilient and competitive water economy. Over 30 actions help EU countries, regions, municipalities, citizens and businesses improve water management.
The Communication on integrated wildfire risk management sets out a new approach to wildfires, covering prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.
Embedding resilience in all policies
The EU is working to build preparedness into policies and legislation from the start, so resilience becomes part of how every sector operates.
Working with national civil protection authorities
The EU supports, complements and coordinates the work of national civil protection authorities in prevention and risk management. It: to support, complement, and coordinate their efforts in prevention and risk management planning.
In this respect, the EU:
- funds relevant prevention and preparedness projects
- deploys experts on request to assess risks and advise local or national authorities
- organises yearly meetings with EU countries to discuss wildfire seasons and how best to support prevention and response
- gathers lessons learned and promotes good practices in prevention and preparedness
- develops policies focused on reducing disaster risks
In addition, the EU develops policies that focus on prevention and the reduction of disaster risks. The EU also enhances early warning systems and supports awareness‑raising initiatives such as a new EU Preparedness Day, online campaigns and toolkits for strategic communication and countering information manipulation. Regular EU‑level exercises help improve preparedness across borders.
Through this strategy, the EU is working with Member States, partner countries, businesses and citizens to build a true preparedness union:
a safer, more resilient Europe that is ready for the challenges of today and tomorrow.
By investing in preparedness now, the EU can limit the human, social and economic costs of future crises and strengthen trust in public institutions.
What is disaster risk management?
The EU and EU countries have agreed 5 disaster resilience goals to guide prevention and preparedness work. They act as a compass for policy and investment, helping authorities make better decisions and protect people, livelihoods and the environment:
- Anticipate - anticipating and preparing for risks
- Prepare - increasing risk awareness and preparedness of the population
- Alert - enhancing early warnings
- Respond - scaling up response capacities
- Secure - securing robust civil protection systems
They serve as a compass for policy and investments that can help authorities make better-informed decisions and protect citizens, livelihoods, and the environment.
What is disaster preparedness?
Disaster preparedness means taking action before a disaster happens. Governments, organisations, communities and individuals can all prepare so they can cope better with the immediate impact of a crisis and reduce loss of life and livelihoods.
Simple measures make a big difference. These include training search and rescue teams, setting up early warning systems, developing contingency plans, and stockpiling equipment and supplies. Through the preparedness union strategy, the EU is working with EU countries, partner countries, businesses and citizens to put these measures into practice and build a more resilient Europe.
This page was last updated on 23 March 2026