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European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at the Youth Citizens Dialogue on Preparedness Brussels, 18 March 2026 Today I want to talk about something that might not sound very exciting at first, but it is more important than you might think: preparedness. Preparedness is essentially about one simple thing: being ready when the unexpected happens. It is keeping yourself, your ...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at the Youth Citizens Dialogue on Preparedness Brussels, 18 March 2026 Today I want to talk about something that might not sound very exciting at first, but it is more important than you might think: preparedness. Preparedness is essentially about one simple thing: being ready when the unexpected happens. It is keeping yourself, your family, your friends, and your community safe in an emergency. It is the foundation of safety. Most of the time we don't notice it. We only realise how important it is when it's missing or too late, like so many other things in life. Preparedness is not about predicting the future. It's about being ready for all possible crises. Having the plans, having the tools, and having the mindset to act fast when something goes wrong. It's also about learning from the past. When we prepare well, we save time, money, and most importantly, lives. You might be asking yourself: So why are we focusing so much on preparedness right now? The answer is simple: because the world around us is changing fast, and it is more unpredictable than ever. Just think about the last few years. We had a global pandemic that stopped the world almost overnight. The war in Ukraine is right on our doorstep, and the current war in the Middle East left thousands of Europeans citizens stranded. Through our EU Civil Protection Mechanism, we helped bring more than 11,000 of them back home, safe and sound. The conflict also affects energy prices and our supply chains. Last year was a record-breaking year for wildfires. More than one million hectares of land burned across Europe . That's roughly one-third the size of Belgium. New kinds of threats are appearing too. Hybrid attacks, cyber-attacks, even drones shutting down airports, like what happened recently in European capitals. These crises don't stay inside one country. They cross borders. They spread across sectors. And suddenly, they affect our daily life, your travel plans, your communication, even your ability to pay with your phone. The real question is this: How do we prepare for this unpredictable world without living in fear? That is exactly the challenge we are working on right now. We are developing what we call the Preparedness Union Strategy . This is our plan to help Europe get ready for crises before they happen. The idea is this: First, we must prepare for all kinds of risks. Natural disasters, health emergencies, cyber threats, conflicts, you name it. Second, we need to work together better. You know the expression “working in silos”? We need to stop doing that. We need to cooperate better. And crises spread fast. We saw that during COVID, so we need to coordinate across our entire European Union. Cities, regions, countries, and the EU. We all need to work together. Third, preparedness must include everyone, not just first responders and a handful of experts. Governments, businesses, scientists, volunteers, and yes you, our young people. We need everyone doing their part to keep our societies safe. It is a shared responsibility. What does this look like in real life? Let me give you a concrete example. From now on, whenever we design a new policy or investment in Europe, we ask the question: Will this also work in a crisis? This is called “preparedness by design”. Imagine building a metro system. Preparedness means asking these questions from the start: What happens if the power goes out? Can the metro still operate during a blackout or a cyberattack? If the roads are blocked, can it transport emergency teams and relief supplies? If part of the city needs to evacuate quickly, can the metro help move people safely? Can the system withstand floods or extreme weather? Sometimes preparedness means a very simple idea: a metro station that can also serve as a shelter, just in case. These considerations can cost very little, but they can save lives. Another example is the blackout last year in Spain and Portugal. Millions of people suddenly lost electricity. Hospitals struggled. Traffic lights stopped working. Electronic payments failed. Small things suddenly became big problems. That is why we are working with countries across Europe to encourage households to be self-sufficient for 72-hours. It is the famous “grab bag” with food, water, medicine, batteries, and basic supplies. Preparedness also means working closely with businesses. They run most of our supply chains and the infrastructure we use every day. We are also preparing for future health crises. During Covid we learned a hard lesson: when a pandemic hits, speed matters, so we created a network of vaccine factories across Europe that can switch on quickly and produce up to 325 million vaccines per year when the next health emergency hits. We are also strengthening civil-military cooperation. Training together, so that when a crisis happens, we already know how to work as one team. We are doing a lot to make people safer across Europe, but the most important change is not technical. It's mental. We need to change our mindset about preparedness. Almost 7 in 10 Europeans say they do not feel prepared for emergencies. That needs to change. Preparedness should become part of our everyday culture. Everyone should know what to do when a crisis hits. This is where you come in, our young people. Your generation will live in this new world. You can lead the change with your ideas and your networks. I am working to develop a programme like “Erasmus of Preparedness” where young Europeans can learn about risks, volunteer in the field of emergency response, and exchange ideas across countries. Today we are building a safer, more confident Europe where everyone knows what to do if something happens. We need you to do your part. You can help make your families safer and your communities stronger. You can count on me, and you can count on Europe to support you every step of the way. SPEECH/26/649
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