Ádám Karácsony, ECR rapporteur for the opinion “EU Stockpiling Strategy: boosting the EU’s material preparedness for crisis”, presented today his work to participants of the Council of the European Union’s ad hoc Working Party on preparedness, response capability and resilience to future crises. The rapporteur reiterated the vital role of local and regional authorities in strengthening Europe’s crisis and resilience framework. 

The opinion—recently adopted by the European Committee of the Regions’ NAT Commission—emphasises that effective crisis preparedness depends on clear governance, well defined responsibilities across all levels, and fully integrated local expertise. 

"Strategic stockpiling must remain a backbone of the European Union’s resilience strategy, ensuring uninterrupted access to essential goods during crises," Mr Karácsony said.  "Recent global disruptions have exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains, reinforcing the need for strong coordination, subsidiarity, and efficient EU level logistics and infrastructure", he added. 

Although the rapporteur welcomes initiatives aimed at maintaining and expanding EU strategic reserves, the ECR member stressed the importance of the principle of subsidiarity and the need to respect Member States’ sovereignty and national security responsibilities: “EU-level stockpiling must function as a common European capacity based on solidarity and mutual support, but it should complement national and regional capacities, with clear criteria for activation, burden-sharing and replenishment”, he concluded. 

The draft opinion will be put to vote during the CoR May plenary session.