ECR members Antonello Aurigemma and Adam Karácsony today held an exchange of views on their opinions that are both part of the broader package on the Preparedness Union Strategy. Aurigemma, President of the Regional Council of Lazio, is rapporteur of the opinion "Preparing the EU for the next health crisis: a Medical Countermeasures Strategy", whilst Mr Karácsony is rapporteur of the opinion "EU Stockpiling strategy: boosting the EU's material preparedness for crisis".

"The most recent international crisis have shown the need to strengthen the resilience and response capacities of European health companies", said Mr Aurigemma, who added that "it is necessary to predict future demand on the basis of data and define needs on the basis of past pandemic experiences". 

Boosting cooperation among local and regional authorities, research centers, civil and military sectors is essential to make Europe ready and well-equipped to face the next crisis. "Fostering resilience requires greater cross-sectoral coordination at national, regional and local levels, local actions and active involvement of communities and businesses in the health and research sector", added Mr Aurigemma.

With geopolitical tensions rising, extreme weather events more frequent, and hybrid and cyber threats taking increasingly sophisticated forms, there is the need for a preparedness strategy, especially when it comes to the stability of Europe's supply chains and access to essential goods. "Stockpiling is no longer a theoretical concept. It is a backbone of the European Union’s crisis resilience strategy, ensuring that citizens maintain uninterrupted access to essential services in the event of any kind of crisis", said Mr Karácsony, who underlined how one of the greatest challenges lies in governance: defining who does what and at which level. 

"Defining the precise role of regional and local authorities, those who manage supply chains on the ground, it is of essential importance. We need to work to make sure that local knowledge and expertise can be transformed into resilient and reliable supply chains. Stockpiling is not only about goods stored in warehouses. It is about security, resilience, trust, and solidarity across the Union", concluded Karácsony.

The two opinions will be adopted by the NAT Commission in February followed by adoption in the CoR plenary in March.