After the emergency and relief kit requested by the French government, it is the European Union's turn to strengthen its citizens' preparedness for potential crises and conflicts. The European Commission wants to unveil today a "crisis preparedness and management strategy" aimed at harmonize the approaches of the 27 Member States in the event of a crisis.
A survival kit for the entire EU
At the heart of this strategy is the idea of the now famous emergency kit, recommended by the Red Cross and the French government, which every European household should have. The objective: to give citizens the keys to be able to survive in strategic autonomy for at least 72 hours.
This survival kit will contain around ten essential items, such as water, a flashlight, matches, identity papers and vitamin bars. The aim is to enable citizens to cope with the first hours of a crisis, whether it be a natural disaster, a cyberattack or even an armed conflict.
A National Preparedness Day
The Commission also proposes establishing a National Preparedness Day throughout the European Union. This day would be an opportunity to raise public awareness and practice emergency scenarios. “Knowing what to do in case of danger, having different scenarios, also means avoiding panic attacks,“ emphasizes the European Commissioner in charge of this file, Hadja Lahbib, in an interview with AFP.
This initiative is largely inspired by practices already in place in certain Nordic countries. Sweden, for example, recently distributed an updated version of its guide “If a crisis or war occurs“ to its 5 million households. Finland, for its part, has opted for a digital approach by launching a comprehensive website on crisis preparedness. The European-led plan also includes a specific strategy for schools, aimed at harmonizing crisis preparedness practices across all schools in the 27 member countries. It must be said that the stakes are high: 75% of French people do not feel prepared for floods, 73% for forest fires, and 59% for heat waves. Alongside latent ecological disasters, there are political conflicts, whether armed or cybersecurity-related.
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