How the EU responds to crises and builds resilience
The EU is working on various fronts to improve its ability to respond to crises and to enhance its resilience to future challenges.
Dealing with future emergencies
The European Union has faced numerous crises throughout its history and has gradually implemented policy and institutional changes to enhance its ability to deal with future emergencies.
As shown by the COVID-19 pandemic, crises are becoming increasingly complex and don't stop at borders. The EU and its member states have already established cross-border cooperation and solidarity mechanisms to effectively manage crises and protect people.
Yet the EU’s response to crises needs to evolve. In the future, the EU must be ready to face acute crises of a different nature, which could be multi-faceted or hybrid, have cascading effects or occur simultaneously.
To enhance its resilience to future challenges, the EU will have to improve cross-sectoral and cross-border crisis management. Moreover, it will have to improve crisis communication and step up the fight against disinformation. Resilience is the ability not only to withstand and cope with challenges but also to undergo transitions in a sustainable, fair and democratic manner.
In November 2021, the Council adopted conclusions on enhancing preparedness, response capability and resilience to future crises. On 16 December 2021, EU leaders welcomed the conclusions and called for the EU's crisis response to be strengthened in an all-hazards approach and for resilience to be built and monitored.
Given the indispensable role of the single market for the EU, the Council emphasises that crisis-related measures should be temporary, proportionate and fully coordinated, with the objective of resuming as soon as possible the normal functioning of the single market, including the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital as foreseen in the Treaties. Council conclusions, November 2021
Crisis response mechanisms in the EU
When a crisis or disaster strikes, whether it is natural or human-made, the EU can use several crisis-response mechanisms to deliver aid and resolve the situation.
The EU civil protection mechanism
The Union civil protection mechanism coordinates the response to natural and man-made disasters at EU level. It aims to:
- foster cooperation among national civil protection authorities
- increase public awareness of and preparedness for disasters
- enable quick, effective, coordinated assistance to affected countries
The emergency response coordination centre (ERCC) is the operational heart of the civil protection mechanism: it is active 24/7 and coordinates the EU’s disaster-response efforts.
The mechanism includes also a European Civil Protection Pool. This is a voluntary pool of assets pre-committed by member states for immediate deployment inside or outside the EU.
The EU civil protection mechanism in numbers (infographic)
In March 2022, the Council adopted conclusions on civil protection work in the EU in view of climate change. As extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, ministers called for the adaptation of civil protection systems to such events, in order for the EU to be more resilient in the face of climate change.
Among the actions highlighted in the conclusions are:
- investing in research and innovation
- working on adequate prevention and preparedness actions
- developing civil protection capacities
- improving citizen’s preparedness through greater information
- encouraging citizens and volunteers to participate in civil protection initiatives
Crisis coordination in the Council
The integrated political crisis response (IPCR) arrangements support rapid and coordinated decision-making at EU political level for major and complex crises, including acts of terrorism.
Through this mechanism, the presidency of the Council coordinates the political response to the crisis by bringing together EU institutions, affected member states and other key actors.
The IPCR mechanism is currently activated to coordinate the EU measures in response to the migration crisis and to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Council’s crisis coordination mechanism can be triggered either by the presidency or following the invocation of the solidarity clause by a member state.
How the IPCR crisis response mechanism works (infographic)
European Union Solidarity Fund
The European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) was set up in 2002 to respond to major natural disasters and express European solidarity with disaster-stricken regions in Europe. Member states can request EUSF funds to cope with catastrophic events, including floods, forest fires, earthquakes, storms and drought.
In April 2020, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scope of the solidarity fund was extended to cover major public health emergencies.
Since its creation, the Fund has been used to respond to 118 natural disasters and 20 public health emergencies.
- EU Solidarity Fund (European Commission)
- COVID-19 - Council adopts measures for immediate release of funds (press release, 30 March 2020)
- EU budget: Council agrees to €454.8 million in disaster relief aid for Romania, Italy and Türkiye (press release, 18 September 2023)
- European Union Solidarity Fund: Council agrees to €1 028.54 million in disaster relief aid for Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Greece and France (press release, 23 September 2024)
- European Union Solidarity Fund: Council agrees to €116 million in disaster relief aid for Germany and Italy (press release, 18 November 2024)
Preparedness for future health emergencies
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the need for coordinated EU action to respond to health crises in a timely and efficient manner.
Taking stock of lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU adopted four regulations under the European Health Union package to improve the Union’s ability to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to cross-border health emergencies:
- new regulation on serious cross-border threats to health
- revised mandates for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and for the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
- emergency framework regarding medical countermeasures
In addition, the European Commission established the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) in September 2021. The HERA is set up to ensure the development, manufacturing, procurement and equitable distribution of key medical countermeasures within the EU.
Food security crisis plan
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerability of Europe’s food chain to severe supply challenges. In November 2021, the Commission published a communication outlining a contingency plan to ensure food security in Europe during crises.
The measures proposed aim to help the EU face up to challenges including extreme weather events, plant and animal health issues, and shortages of key inputs such as fertilisers, energy and labour. They include the creation of a European food security crisis preparedness and response mechanism (EFSCM) and the establishment of an expert group made up of member state specialists, relevant stakeholders and representatives of non-EU countries who will meet periodically to ensure that the EU is fully prepared for potential food supply challenges.
During the December Agriculture and Fisheries Council, EU ministers approved conclusions on the plan, recognising the need to future-proof Europe’s food system against potential risks and crises. Ministers agreed that the lessons learned from COVID-19 should inform the EU’s approach to future disasters going forward.
EU agriculture ministers held a video conference in March 2022 to discuss the risk of a significant impact on the agri-food sector, following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Among the measures discussed, the Commission updated ministers about its plan to activate the European food security crisis preparedness and response mechanism (EFSCM) to monitor the market situation.
Internal market emergency and resilience act
In September 2024, the Council adopted the internal market emergency and resilience act (IMERA).
The objective of the IMERA is to anticipate, prepare for and respond to the impact of future crises using the strength of the internal market.
Building on lessons learned from emergencies such as COVID-19, Russia’s war against Ukraine and the energy supply crisis, the new mechanism will bolster the internal market in times of crisis by:
- facilitating the movement of goods, services and persons
- monitoring supply chains
- ensuring access to critical goods
Internal market emergency and resilience act
Compulsory licensing
The EU has developed new rules for a compulsory licensing applicable in the whole Union in case of crisis.
Compulsory licensing lets a government allow a third party to use a patent without the authorisation of the patent holder.
In crisis situations, compulsory licensing can help provide access to key products and technologies, for example if the holder of a patent does not have the capacity to produce the necessary amounts of a key product, and if a voluntary agreement is neither available nor feasible.
The compulsory licensing should only be granted after the activation of an emergency or crisis mode at EU level.
On 27 October 2025, the Council approved the new regulation which:
- emphasises the last-resort nature of compulsory licensing
- leaves gas, chips and defence products outside the scope of the regulation
- ensures that there is no obligation to disclose trade secrets
Resilience against physical and digital risks
At its meeting on 20 and 21 October 2022, the European Council strongly condemned acts of sabotage against critical infrastructure, including the Nord Stream pipelines, and stated that the EU would meet any deliberate disruption of critical infrastructure or other hybrid actions with a united and determined response.
To enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure, EU leaders called for the member states to:
- take urgent and effective measures
- cooperate with each other, the European Commission and other relevant actors
The EU is currently working on new rules to make physical and digital critical entities more resilient.
Protection of network and information systems
In 2016, the EU adopted the directive on the security of network and information systems (NIS), the first ever EU-wide legislative measure with the goal of increasing cooperation between EU countries on the vital issue of cybersecurity.
The directive laid down security obligations for operators of essential services in critical sectors, such as hospitals, energy grids, railways, data centres, public administrations, research labs and factories manufacturing critical medical devices and medicines. It also represented a crucial step towards enhancing cyber resilience in the EU.
As part of the EU’s cybersecurity strategy, in December 2020, the European Commission proposed a revised NIS directive (NIS2). The new proposal responds to the evolving threat landscape and takes into account the digital transformation of our society, which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis.
The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the new measures, which will:
- ensure stronger risk and incident management and cooperation
- widen the scope of rules
Protection of critical infrastructure
In December 2022, the Council adopted new rules to ensure that critical sectors such as energy, water, transport and health are able to prevent, protect against, respond to, cope with and recover from:
- hybrid attacks
- natural disasters
- terrorist threats
- public health emergencies
The rules aim to reduce the vulnerabilities and strengthen the physical resilience of critical entities.
Critical entities are entities providing essential services that are crucial for the maintenance of vital societal functions, economic activities, public health and safety, and the environment. One of the key components of a critical entity is its infrastructure. This may include an asset, facility, equipment, network or system necessary for the provision of an essential service.
Under the new rules, critical entities will need to:
- identify any relevant risks that may significantly disrupt the provision of essential services
- take appropriate measures to ensure their resilience
- notify the competent authorities of disruptive incidents
The Council also adopted a recommendation on the resilience of critical infrastructure in December 2022 to respond to the acts of sabotage against the Nord Stream pipeline.
The recommendation steps up the EU’s capacity to protect its critical infrastructure and covers three priority areas: preparedness, response and international cooperation.
IT security of the financial sector
On 28 November 2022 the Council adopted the digital operational resilience act (DORA), with the aim to further strengthen the IT security of financial entities.
DORA sets uniform requirements for the security of network and information systems of:
- companies and organisations operating in the financial sector
- critical third parties which provide ICT related services to them
The act creates a regulatory framework on digital operational resilience by which all firms need to make sure they can withstand, respond to and recover from all types of ICT-related disruptions and threats.
The new rules constitute a very robust framework that boosts the IT security of the financial sector, preventing and mitigating cyber threats.
Digital finance
Last review: 26 May 2025