Europe was built on the promise: never again. Never again war between neighbours. Never again a continent torn apart. For decades, that promise held.

But today, peace is no longer guaranteed. War has returned. Threats are rising, and the world is more unpredictable than ever.

Threats extend beyond military battlefields; they infiltrate our phones, computers, social networks, power plants, financial institutions, supply chains, and critical raw materials. These are the battlefields of the 21^st century, threatening our democracies and European way of life.

Climate change exacerbates disasters at home and worldwide.

Europe must do more than advocate for peace, stability, and prosperity; we must be prepared to defend them.

European defence and security begin long before conflict arises — with robust, prepared societies. That is our current focus in the European Union — enhancing our preparedness.

In March, we introduced our new EU Preparedness Strategy, part of a wider effort to ensure continental safety, alongside our Readiness 2030 plan and ProtectEU, our Internal Security Strategy. This is concrete, comprehensive, and operational, employing an all-hazards, whole-of-government, and whole-of-society approach.

Everyone must contribute to ensuring societal safety — governments, businesses, volunteers, and civil society. Our citizens are pivotal to their safety and security. We empower them to take greater ownership, fostering trust.

Trust binds this new preparedness approach together — between people and governments, Member States, and Europe and its partners.

There is no “one size fits all.” Each country faces unique risks and threats. My visits to Spain and Sweden highlighted this — Spain prioritizes floods and wildfires, while Sweden focuses on cyberattacks, sabotage, and disinformation.

Our European preparedness must be a flexible network that adapts to each countrys realities. Recent blackouts in Spain and Portugal remind us that risks are unpredictable, striking without warning, disrupting basic services, causing shortages, and spreading disinformation.

We are cultivating a culture of preparedness across our continent — not to alarm, but to ensure readiness. Prepared individuals have peace of mind.

Todays threats are complex and rapid — cyberattacks, hybrid warfare, and armed aggression, among others. We must ensure seamless cooperation between civilian and military authorities in Europe, ready for action.

Civil preparedness should become a European way of life. We aim to support a European Civil Defence Mechanism, complementing the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, focusing on civilian preparedness. This will raise awareness and equip individuals to contribute to Europes collective defence.

This is not just about improved coordination; its about empowering individuals to safeguard their families and communities and enhancing cooperation between civilian and military actors.

We can learn from recent experiences. During COVID-19, civil-military cooperation was crucial. In Italy, armed forces assisted an overwhelmed health system by establishing field hospitals, deploying medical teams, and delivering vaccines to remote areas, saving lives.

In Ukraine, civil-military cooperation is essential daily, with the State Emergency Service working alongside the Armed Forces to rescue civilians, clear mines, and restore services. Firefighters, engineers, soldiers, and medical teams collaborate daily, illustrating that true preparedness and resilience stem from shared responsibility.

In Sweden, I witnessed their Total Defence model, where civilian and military organizations collaborate closely, each fulfilling its role. This is the approach we aspire to promote at the European level.

In our Preparedness Strategy, the Commission and the High Representative will collaborate with all relevant partners to establish concrete civil-military preparedness arrangements, clarifying roles and ensuring effective coordination during complex crises.

Furthermore, our international partners, especially NATO, are vital for military response and preparedness. Our Preparedness Strategy aims to operationalize our Mutual Assistance and Solidarity clauses and enhance EU-NATO cooperation, including if NATOs Article 5 is invoked.

Our strategy also encompasses cross-sectoral preparedness exercises across the EU, and we are building on previous efforts. The EU Integrated Resolve exercises, conducted biennially under the EU-NATO PACE Concept, test our response capabilities in complex, high-stakes scenarios.

We are implementing this Preparedness Strategy, collaborating with Member States and key partners. For instance, we are reinforcing rescEU, our European safety net, which provides strategic reserves for various crises — including firefighting aircraft, stockpiles of vital medical, energy, and transport equipment, and specialized assets for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.

In the coming weeks, we will launch an EU-wide stockpiling strategy to ensure critical resource access during crises. We aim to integrate dual-use considerations into all infrastructure investments and capability planning, encompassing military mobility, mass evacuations, secure communications, maritime security, cyber capabilities, and space assets.

However, preparedness requires resources.

If we are serious about readiness, we must allocate appropriate resources, reflected in the next EU budget. Some Member States are considering using parts of their increased military budgets to enhance civilian preparedness, which is logical since strengthening civilian readiness also bolsters military readiness.

Investing in preparedness yields long-term benefits — reducing recovery costs and enhancing competitiveness. Preparedness saves lives and money.

When we prepare together, we enhance our safety collectively. Every European contributes to our preparedness chain. Our objective is to integrate preparedness into every action, policy, and budget.

Today, being prepared is no longer a passive endeavor — that mindset is outdated. It’s too late to wait.

Proactive, forward-thinking, and operational — this must be our collective mindset. This is how we will be ready for any challenges that arise.