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 a given. War is back. Threats are rising. And the world around us is more unpredictable than ever.

The threats dont just come from military battlefields. Today the battlefields are also our phones, computers, social networks, power plants, financial institutions, supply chains, and our critical raw materials. These are the battlefields of the 21^st century, and they threaten our democracies and our European way of life.

Meanwhile, climate change continues to turbocharge disasters here at home and across the planet.

Europe must therefore do more than just stand for peace, stability, and prosperity. We must be ready to defend it.

European defence and security does not start when the bombs fall or the bullets fly. It starts long before that — with strong, prepared societies. That is what we are doing right now in the European Union — we are reinforcing our preparedness.

In March, we launched our new EU Preparedness Strategy. This Strategy is part of a broader approach to keeping our continent safe – together with our Readiness 2030 plan and ProtectEU, our Internal Security Strategy. It is concrete, comprehensive, and operational, taking an all-hazards, whole-of-government, and whole-of-society approach.

We are getting everyone on board because everyone should do their part in keeping our societies safe — governments, businesses, volunteers, and civil society. Especially our people — they are the backbone of their own safety and security. We are empowering them to take greater ownership, and this builds trust.

Trust is the super glue holding this new approach to preparedness together. Trust between people and governments, trust between Member States, and trust between Europe and its partners.

But there is no “one size fits all”. Each country faces its own unique risks and threats. I recently visited Spain and Sweden. In Spain, floods and wildfires are a top priority, while in Sweden they are more concerned with cyberattacks, sabotage, and disinformation.

Our European preparedness must therefore be a flexible web that adapts to the specific realities of each country. The recent blackouts in Spain and Portugal were a wake-up call, reminding us that risks are unpredictable. They strike without warning, disrupting basic services, causing shortages, and breeding disinformation.

We are building a new culture of preparedness across our continent – not to alarm people, but to make sure they are ready for anything. When people are prepared, they have peace of mind.

Todays threats are complex and move at lightning speed – cyberattacks, hybrid warfare, and armed aggression to name just a few. So we need to make sure that our cooperation between civilian and military authorities in Europe is seamless and ready for action.

Civil preparedness must become our European way of life. That is why we are working to build support for a European Civil Defence Mechanism. This would be a powerful complement to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, focusing on civilian preparedness. It would raise awareness and give people the tools they need to be part of Europes collective defence.

This is not just about better coordination, it is about giving people a greater role in keeping their families and communities safe and strong. It is also about deepening cooperation between civilian and military actors.

We can learn from recent experiences.

During COVID-19, civil–military cooperation proved essential. In Italy, for example, the armed forces stepped in when the health system was overwhelmed. They set up field hospitals, deployed medical teams, and helped deliver vaccines to remote areas. These joint efforts saved lives.

In Ukraine today, civil-military cooperation is a daily necessity. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine works closely with the Armed Forces to rescue civilians, clear mines, and restore basic services. Firefighters, engineers, soldiers, and medical teams join forces every day, a powerful reminder that real preparedness and resilience come from working together and sharing responsibility.

In Sweden, I saw firsthand what this can look like. Their Total Defence model brings civilian and military organisations together, working side by side, each doing their part. That is the kind of approach we want to foster at the European level.

In our Preparedness Strategy, the Commission and the High Representative will work with all relevant partners to put in place concrete arrangements for civil-military preparedness. This will help to clarify who does what, when, and how, ensuring effective coordination in complex crises, in line with each others role, mandate, and responsibilities.

Allow me to also underline the importance of our international partners — especially NATO — when it comes to military response and preparedness. Our Preparedness Strategy aims to make our Mutual Assistance and Solidarity clauses truly operational, and it suggests deepening EU-NATO cooperation, including if NATOs Article 5 is triggered.

Our Preparedness Strategy also includes plans for cross-sectoral preparedness exercises across the EU, and we are not starting from scratch. The EU Integrated Resolve exercises, held every two years under the EU-NATO PACE Concept, test our ability to respond to complex, high-stakes scenarios.

We are now putting this Preparedness Strategy into action, working hand in hand with Member States and key partners. For instance, we are reinforcing rescEU, our European safety net. These strategic reserves help the EU respond to every type of crisis — with fire-fighting planes, stockpiles of vital medical, energy and transport equipment, and specialised assets against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.

In a few weeks, we will launch an EU-wide stockpiling strategy to ensure access to critical resources in times of crisis. We are also striving to integrate dual-use considerations into all our infrastructure investments and capability planning, such as military mobility, mass evacuations, secure communications, maritime security, cyber capabilities, and space assets.

But lets be clear: preparedness does not come for free.

If we are serious about making our societies ready for anything, we need to back it with the right resources, and this should be reflected in the next EU budget. Some Member States are already looking at using part of their increased military budgets to boost civilian preparedness. That makes perfect sense because strengthening civilian readiness also strengthens military readiness.

Investing in preparedness pays off in the long run — it cuts recovery costs and reinforces our long-term competitiveness. Investing in preparedness doesnt just save lives, it saves money.

When we prepare together, we are safer together. Every European is a link in our preparedness chain. Our goal is to make preparedness a part of everything we do – our actions, our policies, and our budget.

Today being prepared is no longer a waiting game — that is yesterdays thinking. And that is too late.

Proactive, forward-thinking, and operational – that must be our new collective mindset. That is how we will be ready for anything that comes our way.