Minister Van Weel:

“In the Netherlands, we are already working hard on resilience, but it is important that we do not limit ourselves to national borders. Furthermore, we can learn a lot from the countries around us that are already further along in this regard. Therefore, today we are starting with countries from different parts of Europe a ministerial coalition to strengthen our resilience together, for example by looking at lessons learned from Ukraine. A resilient European Union makes us robust and ensures that Europe is prepared for disruptions to society caused by various types of crises.”

The responsibility for resilience primarily lies with the member states themselves. However, crises do not adhere to borders, and therefore coordinated European cooperation is necessary, also with the European Commission. In this coalition, the countries will work closely together to strengthen civil preparedness and resilience in the individual countries and the EU as a whole, based on a joint agenda with concrete actions.

The coalition focuses on five priorities. First, it is important that society is resilient and that citizens prepare themselves for possible crises. Therefore, efforts are being made to raise awareness among residents of the consequences of potential crises and to increase their self-reliance. Secondly, work will continue on strengthening critical infrastructure, such as underwater cables and energy supplies. In addition, the countries want to work on a joint threat assessment so that we can prepare together in Europe for the same threats.

It is also the goal to make existing EU structures for crisis management more effective, such as the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, so that there can be a rapid and coordinated response to a crisis. Finally, the countries want to look at improving civil-military cooperation, including the collaboration between the EU and NATO, where the focus on strengthening military resilience must go hand in hand with civil resilience.