As part of the ‘Preparedness Union Strategy’ (see EUROPE 13608/1), the first-ever EU strategy for stockpiling essential products, which was presented by the European Commission on Wednesday 9 July, focuses on taking stock of the current situation and increasing coordination between Member States so that the EU is better prepared to deal with crises of any kind, whether they are caused by natural disasters, pandemics, industrial accidents, cyberattacks or armed conflicts (see EUROPE 13671/10).
“The goal is simple: to make sure the essential supplies that keep our societies running (...) are always available. And we will achieve this through smarter planning, stronger cooperation, and by sharing responsibility for our collective safety”, said the European Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib.
The first goal in this strategy is to anticipate risks and identify areas of weakness. “At this stage, we don’t know who has what, what is missing. So the first step is really to exchange information”, said Ms Lahbib. We know that “the Czech Republic, Finland, Estonia” have set up centralised stockpiling, “but we don’t have a clear vision for the others”, she added.
“If you don’t know who to contact in a crisis, it’s already too late”, said a European official on Tuesday 8 July.
The European Commission is therefore proposing to set up an ‘EU Stockpiling Network’ of competent authorities for strategic stockpiling in order to: - exchange best practice; - identify essential goods tailored to different crisis scenarios; - make recommendations on volume requirements; - coordinate the availability and interoperability of certain stocks.
In order to stimulate cooperation between Member States, the organisation of joint public procurement contracts will also be encouraged. In the agri-food products sector, “the European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response Mechanism (EFSCM) should be deepened and operationalised to enhance information exchange, transparency and solidarity”, the EU institution also emphasises (see EUROPE 13460/6).
According to Ms Lahbib, the EU also needs “strategic stockpiles” to build up and manage stocks of essential goods at European level.
RescEU. The idea is to build on the existing European Civil Protection Mechanism(RescEU), which coordinates national contributions in the event of natural disasters or fires, for example. In particular, the European Commission suggests that the EU should increase its fleet of means of transport (helicopters and light planes to fight fires, multimodal units to facilitate the evacuation of people or goods) and increase its stocks of generators, shelters and medical equipment in the event of a biological, chemical or nuclear (CBRN) crisis.
Finally, the European strategy also aims to stimulate cooperation between the civil and military sectors, as well as public-private partnerships. In 2026, in line with the Clean Industrial Deal, the European Commission will set up a European centre for the joint procurement of critical raw materials on behalf of interested companies.
See the EU stockpiling strategy: https://aeur.eu/f/hse (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)