Standing here in Oulu, we are as far north as Europes great cities go. For more than four centuries, the people of Oulu have learned to thrive in this demanding environment: dark winters, scarce energy, long supply lines, and a border with Russia just a few hours away.
Here, preparedness is a way of life. It is in your DNA.
And yet, Oulu is also a northern powerhouse of technology and innovation, home to around one thousand tech companies and 20,000 professionals in research and development. This region ranks among the highest in Finland for research investment.
You have technology running through your veins.
What better place than Oulu for Europe to boost its preparedness and to reinforce its defences against the threats of tomorrow.
This rescEU Borealis Exercise is more than a technical training – it is a powerful symbol of European solidarity. I want to warmly thank Sweden, Norway, and Germany for taking part. You show how vital international cooperation is for our collective readiness.
When countries train, plan, and act together, we strengthen our preparedness and make the fabric of European solidarity stronger. Todays challenges cross borders, so our preparedness must do the same.
I believe our generation has a unique calling: to prepare our entire society – our institutions, our communities, and our citizens – for todays complex threats.
This Borealis exercise is also a promise to the people of Europe. A promise that when disaster strikes, they will not be left alone. No European country will ever stand alone. We will be ready with strong action, ready to deploy, ready to saves lives.
With this exercise, we are challenging ourselves and testing our capacities. And above all, we are building trust. A trust that, no matter the crisis – fire, flood, storm, or CBRN emergency – we can count on each other when it matters most. This Borealis Exercise brings to life our vision of a Preparedness Union – a Europe that does not wait for the next crisis, but anticipates it, prepares for it, and faces it together.
The European Union has 450 million citizens. That is 450 million reasons to be better prepared. Earlier this year, we launched our Preparedness Union Strategy because todays threats are evolving at lightning speed. We are strengthening our European preparedness by getting everyone on board — from governments, institutions, and businesses to communities, citizens, and volunteers.
This Strategy builds on the report by former President Niinistö. It is no coincidence that we turned to a Finnish leader to assess the EUs readiness. I remember meeting dear Sauli last year. He told me: Europe has the tools to be well prepared, we just have to bring them together, coordinate better, and make all the pieces work in harmony.
We are doing that – day after day, brick by brick.
We can also learn a lot from Finland about building a society ready for any challenge. The Niniistö report makes it clear that building strong, well-prepared societies happens before disaster strikes. It calls for stronger collective readiness across Europe. Every hour we spend training, coordinating, and testing our systems, is an hour invested in saving lives tomorrow.
This is Europe at its best: working together, preparing together, standing together.
I also want to thank Finland for your valuable partnership. Finland is a key contributor to the EUs Union Civil Protection Mechanism, proof of your commitment to our shared preparedness. You help strengthen Europes resilience to CBRN threats through capacity building. You show that preparedness is not just national, it is truly European.
It is partnerships like these that power our Civil Protection Mechanism and turn rescEU into concrete action.
I also want to highlight Finlands role in developing and hosting two strategic rescEU stockpiles. These stockpiles hold critical medical and CBRN assets –
life-saving treatments, medical devices, protective gear, and specialised CBRN chemical detectors.
These stockpiles are part of our €1.6 billion investment across Europe, a cornerstone of Europes collective preparedness and a key part of our stockpiling strategy. They make sure that when crises hits – whether a pandemic, a CBRN incident, or the fallout of Russias war against Ukraine – life-saving supplies and equipment get to those who need them most, fast.
When a crisis strikes, our EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre leaps into action to coordinate our response and support our Member States. It is the brain and the beating heart of our Union Civil Protection Mechanism. Day and night, it monitors risks, like wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and more. It connects countries, and activates rescEU, making sure help gets where it is needed fast.
We saw it in action this summer during the record-breaking wildfires. I want to pay tribute to Finnish firefighters that battled the fires shoulder-to-shoulder with local firefighters in Spain. I called this our “Summer of Solidarity”. Together, we responded quickly and effectively to assist our Member States.
It saved lives and hectares of forests.
That is why we must keep investing – and scale up our investment – in rescEU. It is the backbone of our collective preparedness.
I want to thank Finland for your commitment to our European preparedness. You are a pioneer and you lead by example. Together we can make Europe faster, stronger, and more united, and ready for whatever comes our way.
