The starting point is the report last October by former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, on how to “Strengthen Europe’s civil and military preparedness and readiness.”
Today the European Commission presents the strategy for crisis preparedness and management, focusing on civil measures: the "EU Strategy for the Union's Preparedness" offers thirty key actions to address emergencies, ranging from the risk of conflict (the fear of countries bordering Russia is very high) to environmental disasters, from cyberattacks to pandemics.
EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, explained in an interview with AFP that "we will support member states in creating what we call a resilience bag, so that all citizens are ready to resist, to be strategically autonomous for at least 72 hours."
A survival kit should contain about ten products considered essential, including water, medicine, electricity, identity documents, matches, food.
Another proposal is to create a “national preparedness day” to raise awareness of the need to be prepared for any disaster in the EU. There is also a specific strategy for schools.
The draft document to be approved today, seen by the Spanish newspaper "El País", proposes the creation of a special crisis committee, in which the EU Commission, the High Representative for Foreign Policy and the 27 member states will be represented, which will receive the support of European national agencies.
"Early identification of risks and threats," the document explains, "can save valuable time and help prevent crises or facilitate their management and minimize their impact."
The Commission also wants to accelerate plans to expand its analysis and intelligence service, the EU's single Intelligence Analysis Centre, the body that receives civilian and military information from member states' spy agencies.
Brussels will also create a digital platform so that citizens and travelers have information on the risks and available options (e.g. shelters) in the event of a crisis.
It also proposes coordinating strategic reserves of medicines, essential raw materials, energy and food at EU level.