The European Union presented this plan on Wednesday, July 9, whose objective is to ensure that Europeans have enough stocks of basic products, food, vaccines and medicines, in case of natural disaster, epidemic or war.
“The more it prepares, the less it scares,” summarized the European commissioner in charge of the Hadja Lahbib crisis situations at a press conference in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Anticipate essential needs in case of a disaster
This strategy called “Preparation 2030” coincides with the warnings released by NATO on a possible attack by Russia against a European country in the next three or five years. The idea is to anticipate actions of certain basic products to guarantee supplies in case of natural disaster or even armed conflicts.
“This is the first time for the EU,” said Hadja Lahbib, and the goal is “very simple, ensuring that the essential products that ensure that the proper functioning of our companies is still available,” he said.
Therefore, the European Commission wishes to improve coordination, information exchange and planning between member states to ensure that there are sufficient stocks available, in food, vaccines, masks or medicines, avoiding unnecessary duplicates. “We do not need, for example, a fleet of Canadair airplanes in each Member State,” he said.
Better a system that allows the implementation “quickly and where and when necessary,” added Hadja Lahbib. This requires providing strategic and logistics warehouses adapted through use, for example, cooperation with military forces. Which is the case at this time in Marseille (Bouches-Du-Rhône), beaten by forest fires, he explained.
Unequal levels of preparation among Member States
The level of preparation is not the same among the 27, the countries closest to Russia, such as the Baltic states, have already largely anticipated situations of potential conflicts.
“Of course, if you have a 1,000 -kilometer border with Russia, you will potentially feel threatened by a war,” said Lahbib. “But it is normal for people to have the impression that forest fires are more likely. There is no unique solution.”
The Belgian commissioner insisted that, whatever the cause of a crisis, conflict or natural disaster, the impact on citizens, such as electricity failures, can be similar.
The European Commission had proposed in March this “crisis preparation and management strategy”, in which it already suggested that the inhabitants of the 27 member countries have a bag that contains what to be autonomous for 72 hours in case of a crisis or conflict situation.
Source: BFM TV
