Today (22 May), the 3rd and final session of the European citizens’ panel on preparedness will start in Brussels and will run until Sunday. After almost 3 months of deliberation, the 150 randomly selected citizens from all 27 member states, representing EU diversity, will finalise their recommendations on how to implement the preparedness union strategy. On Sunday, the citizens will officially hand them over to the Director General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, Maciej Popowski.
The preparedness union strategy, adopted in March 2025, aims to enhance the EU’s capacity to prevent and respond to emerging threats. It identifies the active engagement of citizens as an essential element for effective crisis preparedness. To ensure this engagement, citizens need to become aware of the importance of being prepared. This is why the strategy sets out, among its 30 main actions, programmes to raise citizens’ awareness on the issue, such as the citizens’ panel on preparedness. Through this active citizen engagement, citizens’ recommendations will help shape a preparedness union in which all European citizens are empowered and better prepared for crises, ensuring that no one is left behind.
The recommendations will be published on the citizens’ engagement platform, where a livestream and recordings of the plenary discussions will also be available. Journalists wishing to attend in person should contact COMM-CITIZENS-PANELS@ec.europa.eu.
