Europe to begin stockpiling food and medicine as WW3 fears explode

The European Union should start gathering stockpiles of food and other critical supplies amid the threat of conflict, health crises and natural disasters, Brussels chiefs have said. The European Commission laid out a strategy on stockpiling for the first time on Wednesday, emphasising the need to build up stocks of things like fuel, medicine, and raw materials to protect member states against major shocks.

It comes amid a horror warning from Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen that as Russia is rearming, it could "pose a credible military threat" to the bloc and Nato in two to five years. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and a more than three-year-long war has followed. Analysts have warned Putin's territorial ambitions could stretch beyond Ukraine, and Nato nations have been building up their militaries to deter any such attack.

The commission launched the intiative, as well as a Medical Countermeasures Strategy that looks to "accelerate the development, production, deployment, and accessibility of lifesaving medical tools", as part of its Preparedness Union, a plan on how to respond to major crises.

In a press release, the commission said both are "designed to improve access to essential goods for European citizens and societies, businesses and economies - ensuring continuity of essential goods and lifesaving medical supplies at all times, in particular during crises such as major energy blackouts, natural disasters, conflicts or pandemics".

Major actions identified in the stockpiling initiative include:

• setting up an EU stockpiling network with member states "to ensure collaboration and coordination"
• identifying stock gaps and duplications across the bloc
• expanding EU-level stockpiles
• enhancing transport and logistics for rapid crisis response
• promoting civil-military, public-private, and international partnerships

The report also says the EU should consider building "stocks of further vaccines, countermeasures, and devices, as well as food items", to prepare for poential threats like "zoonotic diseases, burns and infectious diseases".

The Commission is looking to prepare a more unified response to such events, after the chaos of the Covid pandemic left individual EU nations scrambling to secure supplies for themselves.

Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, told a news conference today: "We need a long-term strategy to make sure that essential supplies that keep society running are always available. The more we prepare, the less we panic."

Ms Lahbib said the bloc faces threats including "hybrid attacks, power blackouts, extreme weather and spreading diseases".

"These are no longer distant risks," she said, adding: "That is why we are moving preparedness from the sidelines to the frontline of our defence."

She noted that the perception of various risks and what's needed will vary by country. Finland, for example, shares a border with Russia and its population is prepared for the possibility of defending itself against Russia.

"Of course, if you have a 1,000 kilometres border with Russia, you will feel threatened potentially by a war," said Lahbib.

"But it is normal, that in Spain, they feel that wildfires are more likely to happen," she continued, adding: "There is no one size fits all."

But Ms Lahbib that the impacts crisis of a crisis on populations can be similar regardless of whether they're caused by conflict or natural disasters, as per MailOnline.

"People are without energy, and that's why we need to stockpile items everywhere in the European Union," she added.

On Tuesday, Ms Frederiksen repeated her warning that the EU needs to be ready to defend itself by the end of the decade. She told the European parliament: "Russia's military rearming means that they could - within two to five years - pose a credible military threat to Europe and Nato."

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, as well as US President Donald Trump, has pushed hard for allies to up their spending and has also said Moscow could be ready to attack an alliance member within five years.

NATO's members, except for Spain, which opted out, have agreed to increase defence and security spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.

Meanwhile, the EU has also unveiled a €800 billion (£689 billion) plan to bolster its defences and reduce its reliance on the US amid concerns over the Trump administration's commitment to European security.