The EU has advised keeping a 3-day emergency supply kit to be ready for a crisis.
The European Union has advised its 450 million inhabitants to stockpile essential supplies sufficient for at least 72 hours, citing increasing risks of war, cyberattacks, climate change, and disease.
EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib stated on Wednesday that the warning reflects a broader strategy to improve civil readiness across the bloc. While not mentioning Russia specifically, she stressed that the Ukraine conflict threatens European security.
“For three years in Ukraine, we have seen a battlefield of bombs, and bullets, drones, fighter planes, trenches and submarines.Yes, our European security is directly threatened by this,” Lahbib said.
Several EU countries have consistently named Moscow as a significant threat to regional security. France, Poland, the Baltic states, and Finland have all raised concerns over alleged Russian cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and political interference. They have also described the Ukraine conflict as an example of aggressive behavior that poses a military threat to the bloc.
Moscow has consistently denied any intention to attack NATO countries or the EU. Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed such claims as “nonsense” meant to scare European populations and increase military budgets.
“We want people to be ready, not to panic,” Lahbib said. “Preparedness is not fearmongering – it is common sense in a time of uncertainty.”
Under the strategy, the EU is advising households to keep essential supplies, including non-perishable food, bottled water, flashlights, batteries, first-aid materials, and key documents. Citizens are also encouraged to have access to a shortwave radio in case of power or communication outages.
The EU is also planning to create a strategic reserve of key resources, including firefighting aircraft, medical transport, mobile hospitals, and stockpiles of protective equipment for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents.
“Today’s threats facing Europe are more complex than ever, and they are all interconnected,” Lahbib said. “From war on our borders to increasingly frequent climate disasters, the EU must be ready to face the unexpected,” she added.
The initiative mirrors long-standing practices in countries such as Finland and Sweden, where civil defense preparations and emergency guidance are more established. Sweden, for example, recently updated its ‘If Crisis or War Comes’ handbook with modern scenarios, including how to respond to nuclear threats.
The Commission’s new plan includes the creation of an EU-level crisis hub to coordinate cross-border responses and ensure continuity of essential services, from healthcare to energy and telecommunications.
Image credit: Getty Images
Utter fear mongering.
Be terrified of Putin and climate change, while we censor you, cancel your elections and import your 3rd world replacements by the millions.
The EU is vile.
I think that we are being gaslit again.
What I read is that there is a general EU “preparedness” document that has just been republished and contains some new items. This is not a sudden thing; they are only updating an existing document, and many news channels have jumped on this assuming that it is new.
However, the timing of the update does appear to be intended to induce fear and imply that a war with Russia could be imminent.
To be honest I sometimes hope that Putin would nuke the damn lot of them.
Please visit Europe while he does.
From Europe with love.
Yes, the fear propaganda goes on full throttle.
But it is not Putine our ennemy. It is the criminal liars ruling europe at the moment.
I’d rather think the banking system is going to implode soon. Leaving the population without any ressources
SO, yes long hold groceries and perhaps some cash money or silver coins might be very usefull.
The EU clearly wants to prepare Europeans for war. The EU have rejected the US-mediated ceasefire in the Black Sea
https://www.rt.com/news/614838-eu-sanctions-ukraine-trump/
The EU has absolutely no means to start a war against Russia.
It is all propaganda because all EU governments are endebted as never before, and have all domestic troubles.
The war propaganda is a.o. a mean to confiscate savings from europeans ( buy gold or silver while you still can and don t leave too much cash on your bank account) and to distract the attention from the economic disaster that is awaiting the population.
Those who would lose out most in a multipolar world order are incentivised to start wars to either preserve the old unipolar world order or to at least heavily influence or dominate the western-centric pole of the multipolar world order. All of the current tensions are caused by such jockeying for position.