Twenty recommendations on strengthening the EU’s emergency preparedness have been handed to the European Commission after a three-month citizens’ panel involving participants from all 27 member states.
A group of 150 randomly selected citizens met in Brussels and drew up proposals on how the EU could better prepare for emergencies, the Commission informed on Tuesday.
The recommendations were formally presented on Sunday to the Director-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
They are set to feed into the implementation of the EU’s Preparedness Union Strategy.
The proposals cover six areas: communication, information integrity, inclusion, self-sufficiency, engagement and education.
They include suggestions to strengthen preparedness education, improve warning systems and crisis communication tailored to individual needs, support volunteering, boost European self-sufficiency and resilience, counter misinformation and disinformation, and provide more inclusive support for financially vulnerable groups and people with disabilities.
Door-to-door guidance and common crisis symbols
Among the concrete actions suggested, the citizens recommended that the EU and member states communicate national guidance on individuals’ responsibilities in preparing for future crises through door-to-door outreach, the Commission said.
They also proposed distributing household brochures setting out “72-hour self-sufficiency guidelines” — advice on coping independently for three days during a crisis — while ensuring that older people and those with disabilities are not left behind.
Local authorities should be involved to ensure messages are trusted and culturally appropriate.
The citizens also recommended a standardised visual and auditory symbol system to help people identify key locations and services during a crisis anywhere in the EU.
The full set of recommendations has been published on the Commission’s Citizens’ Engagement Platform.
