Security threats are multiplying. Humanitarian crises are deepening. Climate change is hitting harder, infectious diseases are spreading faster, and disinformation moves even faster than a virus.
These changes affect us all — our homes, our health, our security. Just look back at the past five years: these crises dont come alone, and they dont end quickly. Europe cannot afford to just react anymore. We must anticipate, prepare, and act before the next crisis hits.
Thats why our Preparedness Union is so important — it strengthens our ability to protect our citizens, our societies, and our economies. The COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and other recent crises have shown the life-changing power of our EU budget. It is the backbone of European solidarity — a budget that saves and protects lives.
It helped a small start-up develop a revolutionary vaccine that saved millions. It delivered medical equipment, tents, and generators to millions of Ukrainians. But these crises have also revealed the limits of our current systems. It is now clear that we need stronger instruments and a stronger budget to face todays complex and dangerous risks.
That is why the Commissions new proposal brings together support for civil protection and health emergency preparedness. It builds on our Preparedness Union Strategy — an all-hazard, whole-of-society, and whole-of-government approach. It unites civil protection, cross-sector crisis coordination, and health preparedness in one powerful tool. And it puts people at the centre because citizens are the first line of preparedness.
Today, civil protection is about much more than responding to floods, fires, or earthquakes. The reality has changed, and our response must change too. Over the past few years, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism has spurred national systems to improve and grow. It has become one of the strongest pillars of European solidarity — inside and beyond our borders.
Just yesterday, I returned from Jamaica, where I saw how EU assistance reached people in need after Hurricane Melissa. European solidarity arrived fast and was effective. We should be proud of that.
The new Regulation proposes to simplify procedures and to reinforce the budget, paving the way for a more proactive and forward-looking Europe. I want the ERCC and the entire UCPM to be fully equipped to act — fast, effectively, and in solidarity.
To achieve this, we will strengthen our capacity to anticipate risks before they hit. We are reinforcing early warning systems and strategic foresight so we can act on forecasts, not wait for disasters. When national systems are overwhelmed, EU assets and teams will deploy faster and more flexibly.
We will also support more innovative pre-positioning, greater exchange of experts, and more and better training and exercises to strengthen our teams and volunteers.
We also need to work closely with our military counterparts. This cooperation already works well. During COVID-19, it was key to treating patients, delivering life-saving vaccines, and getting protective equipment to those who needed it most. And just recently, in the response to Hurricane Melissa, French and Dutch naval vessels delivered part of the EUs assistance to Jamaica.
We must keep an open dialogue with our military partners to understand where our work complements theirs, and just as importantly, where the limits lie — always in full respect of the treaties. Our cooperation and investments should reinforce each other. We want resilient societies, and civilian and military preparedness are two sides of the same coin. This is not the time to shy away from closer cooperation with defence. We live in uncomfortable times that require coordination and courage.
The risk of another major health emergency is high. Infectious diseases occur more often, new biosecurity threats are rising, and the withdrawal of major donors threatens years of progress in global health. These challenges affect every Member State, and they demand coordinated action at EU level.
That is why reinforcing our health preparedness at home and abroad is a top priority. It is why I presented the Medical Countermeasures Strategy last July, and why the Commission will come forward with a Global Health Resilience Initiative next year.
While EU4Health will not continue in its current form, our support for health emergency preparedness will not stop — quite the opposite. By bringing together civil protection and health preparedness, we are building on the lessons of the pandemic and joining forces.
Under this new instrument, we will fund operational health preparedness measures such as:
– better surveillance, through early detection of viruses like the Wastewater Sentinel System;
– reserve surge production capacity, to ensure Europe can make its own masks and vaccines when demand spikes;
– strategic stockpiles, that can be deployed quickly to contain outbreaks;
– and simulation exercises, to test and strengthen our response systems.
These are essential — but costly — measures. They bring enormous value through economies of scale when we act together at EU level. With both civil protection and health preparedness under my responsibility, we can ensure deeper coordination — especially when it comes to financial and operational capacities.
This proposal will not change the EUs health security architecture or the coordination mechanisms we strengthened after COVID-19. At the global level, we will continue to reinforce surveillance capacities, boost local and regional production, and strengthen partnerships — like the one we just signed with PAHO last week in Colombia, in the margins of the EU–CELAC Summit.
Health preparedness also means supporting innovation — from lab to market — and scaling up our industrial capacity for medical countermeasures. That is why the European Competitiveness Fund and the Horizon programme will play a key role: backing HERA Invest, supporting SMEs, and keeping research excellence in Europe. Our life-saving products should be developed and manufactured right here, in Europe.
With the EU Preparedness Union Strategy, we have introduced the concept of “preparedness by design.” It means that every time we develop a new policy or investment, we ask two key questions: does this strengthen Europes preparedness? And will it hold under stress?
This is what preparedness is really about — keeping society running when crisis hits. Making sure the lights stay on, transport continues, hospitals function, and supply chains dont break.
I am proud that the Commission has proposed to allocate €10.7 billion to support civil protection and health emergency preparedness in the next MFF. All these investments share one clear goal: to make Europe ready for whatever comes next.
We need an instrument that matches todays reality — one that strengthens our preparedness and ensures we are ready when the next crisis hits. I count on your Committees support to deliver on this ambition.
