EU urges citizens to have 72-hour emergency kits

The 27 member states need to be prepared to face any crisis

The strategy also calls for more stockpiling of essential supplies and improved civilian-military cooperation.

The strategy unveiled on Wednesday by the European Commission includes a list of 30 concrete actions it says EU member states need to take to boost their preparedness against potential future crises ranging from natural disasters and industrial accidents to attacks by malicious actors in the cyber or military domains.

Hadja Lahbib, the commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management said: “In the EU we must think different because the threats are different, we must think bigger because the threats are bigger too.”

Roxana Mînzatu, the Commission for preparedness added: “The COVID pandemic has shown that the added value of acting together in solidarity, in coordination, in the European Union framework is absolutely crucial, This is what makes us more efficient, makes us stronger.”

One of the key areas identified as needing improvement is the population’s preparedness and as a result the Commission has urged member states to ensure citizens have an emergency kit that allows them to be self-sufficient for a minimum of 72 hours in the event they are cut off from essential supplies.

Several member states already have such guidelines with varying timeframes. 

For example, France calls for a 72-hour survival kit that includes food, water, medicines, a portable radio, a flashlight, spare batteries, chargers, cash, copies of important documents including medical prescriptions, spare keys, warm clothes and basic tools such as utility knives.

A senior EU official explained that the guidelines aim to make sure all 27 member states ‘at different levels have, to put it this way, a manual of what to do when the sirens go off’.

They said: “The level of preparedness across the Union, across different member states is very different. Preparedness is definitely understood in different ways across member states.”

Another key focus of the strategy is to increase stockpiling of essential equipment and supplies, medical countermeasures such as vaccines, medicines and medical equipment, critical raw materials so industrial production of strategic equipment can continue, and energy equipment.

Another key priority the Commission identified was cooperation between civilian and military authorities in the event of a crisis.

The Commission said it will establish a civil-military preparedness framework with clear roles and responsibilities and has called for regular exercises to be carried out to test best practices.

The official continued: “We have plenty of examples, unfortunately, in real life, of what kind of threat we need to be prepared (for),” as they referred to acts of sabotage, disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks.

They added: “We are now analysing how we are reacting and where are the blind spots, where we could be more efficient, where we could be swifter, what else we could do.”

All of this work will be underpinned by a new EU crisis coordination hub, and by a risks and threats assessment, the first of which is to be released in late 2026.