During major energy blackouts, natural disasters, conflicts or pandemics, access to essential goods - such as food, water, oil, fuel and medicines – is crucial. The Commission has put forward two strategies designed to improve this access during crises: an EU stockpiling strategy and a medical countermeasures strategy. The stockpiling strategy becomes the EU’s first comprehensive approach to stockpiling. Key actions in the strategy includeestablishing an EU stockpiling network with EU countries to ensure collaboration and coordinationidentifying stock gaps and duplicationsexpanding EU-level stockpilesenhancing transport and logistics for rapid crisis responsepromoting civil-military, public-private, and international partnershipsAccess to lifesaving medical tools in times of emergency is just as important. The medical countermeasures strategy seeks to accelerate their development, production, deployment, and accessibility, with actions includingadvancing flu vaccines, antibiotics for antimicrobial resistance, antivirals, and improving access to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear countermeasuresboosting intelligence and surveillanceaccelerating innovationsecuring scalable productionimproving medicine access and deploymentstrengthening global cooperation and cross-sector collaborationThese two proposals are part of the preparedness union strategy that aims to enhance the EU’s ability to prevent and respond to emerging threats. It comes as the EU is facing increasingly complex crises and challenges, from growing geopolitical tensions, to cybersecurity threats, to climate change and increasing natural disasters.For more informationMore information about preparedness in the EUMore information about stockpiling Press release: EU Stockpiling and Medical Countermeasures Strategies to strengthen crisis readiness and health securityQuestion and answers on Medical Countermeasures Strategy Question and answers on Stockpiling Details Publication date9 July 2025AuthorDirectorate-General for Communication
