Brussels debates how to improve civilian defense preparedness

The first step was the publication this Friday of a report commissioned by the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyenwhich was prepared by the former Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö. A study that precisely defends exporting the Finnish model to the rest of the EU, that has been preparing for a possible conflict with Russia for decades.

“We do not have a clear plan on what the EU will do in the event of armed aggression against a Member State“, warns Niinistö in his report. Nor is there an emergency coordination center at EU level that brings together all the actors involved in responding to a threat of this type. These are the most important shortcomings that Brussels must resolve urgently to be able to confront “the threat of war posed by Russia to European security, or other risks such as “disruptions in the global economy, disasters caused by climate change or another pandemic.”

In the opinion of the former Finnish president, the starting point of comprehensive defense preparation is “put citizens at the center“. The EU and Member States must better protect their citizens by strengthening their resilience and ability to act. “This means raising citizens’ awareness of the risks, encourage self-sufficiency and allow citizens, in different capacities, to play an active role in crisis preparedness and first response,” he argues.

Firstly, the EU must seek to ensure that all community households are prepared to a minimum basic self-sufficiency of 72 hours in different types of emergencies. For example, providing guidelines on food storage, evacuations, chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear threats, access to medical services or schooling in emergency situations. Training that must be included in educational programs and information campaigns.

Currently, more than half of those surveyed by the Eurobarometer (58%) do not feel well prepared for disasters and Only 46% say they would know what to do if a catastrophe occurs. Most Europeans have limited emergency preparedness measures, and their ability to manage basic household functions during crises is limited. “This shows that there is significant scope to improve the personal preparedness and capacity of households to cope with disasters across the EU,” the study says.

Military service

The former Finnish Prime Minister has given up proposing that compulsory military service be reinstated throughout the EU, as is the case in his country. “It wouldn’t be realistic”he argues, because it is a national competence of the Member States. However, it warns that there is an increasing lack of specialists in the EU for professions related to security.

“It is not just about ensuring that the armed forces of the Member States have enough women and men serving in uniform. The Commission already estimated last year that The EU lacks almost a million cybersecurity professionalswhich are needed both in the public service and in the private sector,” Niinistö warned.

To address this problem, Member States should approve specific incentives, including through EU-funded programmes, to make security-related careers are more attractive to young people.

The report also proposes structured collaboration between governments to identify the “best practices” regarding models of compulsory military service or the creation of reserve systems that work. The objective is that they can serve as inspiration to others and facilitate their expansion throughout the EU.

An example is the Estonian ‘cyber conscription’ modelwhich allows young people to become cybersecurity experts during their civil service
or military. The former Finnish president also cites the case of Poland, which recently developed a one-year voluntary basic military service; o Germany and the Netherlands, which are considering a Swedish-style selective conscription model.

Another essential tool to improve defense preparedness would be to gradually create an EU Intelligence Service, although Niinistö himself admits the practical difficulties of this measure due to the mistrust that still persists between Member States.

European governments must also take joint measures to make it as difficult as possible for hostile intelligence services to operate within the EU; as well as establishing an anti-sabotage network to help Member States prevent and respond to incidents of sabotage by foreign powers.

Regarding financing, the former Finnish president highlights “the urgent need to invest more” in security and defense. “There is a cost to preparation, but it pales in comparison to the cost of facing a major crisis unprepared.” Your report proposes dedicating at least 20% of the EU budget to these issues. Furthermore, Member States and private financial institutions must explore new formulas to mobilize more money, such as preparation bonusesguarantees or new investment products in EU companies specialized in this field.