27 Mar 2025
Commission presents EU Preparedness Union Strategy
On 26 March 2025, the European Commission and the EU's High Representative launched the Preparedness Union Strategy to support Member States and enhance Europe's capability to prevent and respond to emerging threats. The strategy is presented as the European Union is facing increasingly complex crises and challenges. From growing geopolitical tensions and conflicts, hybrid and cybersecurity threats, foreign information manipulation and interference, to climate change and increasing natural disasters, the EU needs to be ready to protect its citizens and the key societal functions that are crucial for democracy and daily life, the Commission stresses.
The Strategy includes 30 key actions and a detailed Action Plan to advance the Preparedness Union's objectives, as well as developing a ‘preparedness by design culture' across all EU policies. Key objectives and actions of the Strategy include:
- Protecting Europe's essential societal functions
- Promoting population preparedness
- Enhancing crisis response coordination
- Strengthening civil-military cooperation
- Bolstering foresight and anticipation capabilities
- Increasing public-private cooperation
- Enhancing cooperation with external partners.
The Strategy follows up on the Niinistö Report on Preparedness and Readiness of the EU which had concluded that strengthening Europe's civilian and military preparedness and readiness to address today's growing security challenges – in health, migration, technology security, climate, defence or the economy – is a matter of urgency. The report called for a profound change of mindset, and a shift in the way we understand and prioritise preparedness across the European Union. It also recognised that preparedness is not only a national responsibility but a shared European endeavour requiring stronger role for the Union in coordinating and supporting Member States in this area.
With regard to research and innovation, the strategy stresses their importance: "The research and innovation sector should invest in awareness and resilience against security risks and hybrid threats, also when collaborating internationally". It also regards attracting research talents to Europe as "a necessity for ensuring the EU's long-term resilience and preparedness" and states that "the EU will explore urgently concrete measures to attract researchers". The strategy also stresses that the importance of promoting dual-use in infrastructure, communication systems, transport assets, equipment, stockpiles, medical countermeasures, energy supply, and technologies.
The 30 key actions include, amongst others, establishing a European Centre of Expertise on Research Security (Action 39), and developing a tailor-made resilience testing methodology to assess the preparedness and resilience of Member States’ research and innovation sectors (Action 41).
For more information:
Joint Communication on Preparedness Union Strategy
Annex of the Joint Communication on Preparedness Union Strategy