What is it?
The EU Stockpiling strategy is one of the actions of the EU Preparedness Union Strategy. The EU Stockpiling strategy integrates all existing stockpiling actions. It focuses on securing access to essential goods across the Union. This includes:
- emergency and disaster response supplies
- medical countermeasures
- critical raw materials
- energy equipment
- potentially, agri-food products and water security
Why is this important?
The European Union is facing an increasingly complex and volatile security landscape including:
- rising geopolitical tensions
- state-sponsored hybrid and cyberattacks
- foreign interference
Climate change and environmental degradation are exacerbating extreme weather events, and the COVID-19 pandemic revealed vulnerabilities in critical supply chains and health services.
While emergency reserves remain a primary national responsibility, Member States across the EU have been facing similar challenges in recent times. There is scope for unlocking synergies on collective preparedness at EU level by sharing experience and working together on how best to secure timely access to essential goods for authorities, businesses and the public in an inclusive way.
How are we helping?
The EU Stockpiling Strategy integrates all existing sectorial stockpiling efforts, strengthens access to critical resources across the EU and combines centralised EU-level reserves with Member States’ contributions, supported by public-private partnerships to ensure efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.
The EU Stockpiling Strategy includes the creation of an EU stockpiling network to share best practices and improve interoperability.
It proposes a strategic foresight and risk anticipation to identify critical supply needs in time.
Further, the EU Stockpiling Strategy foresees an EU-wide coordination to ensure coherence across national stockpiles.
It establishes targeted EU-level stockpiles to address key gaps, supported through mechanisms like rescEU. This would boost existing stocks of medical equipment, firefighting assets and energy related items like generators.
The strategy also covers enhanced transport and logistics for rapid distribution.
Finally, a solid stockpiling and supply chain involves also a stronger civil-military and public-private cooperation to leverage all capabilities.
Facts & figures
This strategy is an important first step in a longer process of working together with the Member States to strengthen EU’s material preparedness.
The EU is supporting early warning and monitoring systems, and funds projects to strengthen disaster response capacities at national and local levels.
Last updated: 09/07/2025