EU MEMBER STATES are being asked to develop 72-hour “survival” kits as part of new emergency plans.

It’s part of the bloc’s Preparedness Union Strategy, which sets out responses to various crises, ranging from natural disasters to state-sponsored hybrid attacks.

It comes as the EU recently unveiled a plan to upscale collective member state defence spend to over €800 billion.

Brussels would like every citizen to be equipped for 72 hours of self-sufficiency, EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib said. 

The move is in line with a key report last year on strengthening Europe’s civilian and military preparedness.

The proposed survival kits will consist of items like bottled water, energy bars and a flashlight as part of a wider effort to “foster a culture of resilience” among member states, and Brussels is urging citizens to proactively partake in the move.

“Knowing what to do in case of danger, gaming out different scenarios, that’s also a way to prevent people from panicking,” said Lahbib, recalling shelves being emptied of toilet paper in the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Households would be urged to stock up on a dozen key items including matches and ID documents in a waterproof pouch as part of their “resilience” kit.

“All of this comes in addition to national strategies,” Lahbib said. “It’s about better coordinating, supporting member states in their strategies.”

She unveiled the kit in a rather exuberant video posted to X, the tone of which was criticised by some users on the platform as being like a “joke”.

In the post, Lahbib enthusiastically sells the idea while exhibiting a pair of glasses, matches, a waterproof pouch for documents and a Swiss army knife, among other items.

She withdraws the items from a large handbag, while giving a running commentary to the camera. 

Today, the EU launches its new #Preparedness Strategy.

“Ready for anything” — this must be our new European way of life. Our motto and #hashtag. pic.twitter.com/fA1z8ZvMDA

— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) March 26, 2025

The new strategy draws on the recommendations of a report presented to the European Commission by Finland’s former president Sauli Niinisto late last year.

It also takes inspiration from the example of Scandinavia, where Finland, Sweden and Denmark have all stepped up efforts to prepare households for the possibility of a future crisis or conflict – as Ukraine fights the grinding three-year Russian invasion.

In a letter to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, three lawmakers from the European Parliament’s centrist group Renew urged the commission to go further by sending a handbook to every household in the bloc on preparing for “various crises, from potential conflict to climate disasters, pandemics and cyberthreats”.