NATO has published its Baseline Requirements for Resilience for the first time, setting out guidance for governments on keeping essential civilian services running during shocks and disruptions.
The document is intended to support stronger civil — military co-operation and a “whole-of-society” approach to resilience, a term it uses to describe the ability to resist, respond to and recover from crises, NATO said on Thursday.
Resilience is framed around the continued availability of services such as energy, food, water and healthcare, which NATO said are needed to support societies and armed forces “at all times”.
Allies agreed at the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague to account for up to 1.5% of GDP on defence- and security-related spending, including measures to boost civil preparedness and resilience.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Allied nations and NATO “must be able to resist, respond to and quickly recover from shocks and disruptions”.
Meetings with industry and EU officials
NATO Resilience Policy Directors met at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 15 September to discuss strengthening the Alliance’s resilience and civil preparedness, according to NATO.
The policy directors also met representatives from the water, communications and energy sectors, discussing how critical services can keep operating during crisis and conflict.
On 16 September, the directors met senior representatives from the European Commission and the European External Action Service to discuss the EU’s Preparedness Union Strategy.
The meeting ended with a scenario-based discussion in which Ukrainian authorities shared lessons from keeping critical services running under sustained attack.
