Europe’s ability to cope with future crises, such as climate disasters, pandemics or geopolitical challenges, depends on the public being well prepared. For this reason, the European Commission has launched its strategy for an EU Union of Crisis Preparedness, which highlights the crucial role of citizens and local organisations in building resilient societies.
From March 2026, 150 citizens selected at random from all 27 EU Member States discussed this strategy in a European Citizens’ Panel. nexus was responsible for organising the event, together with its partners DemocracyX (Denmark), Deliberativa (Spain) and Carbon Copy (Switzerland).
Over the course of three weekends, the citizens discussed the following key questions:
- How can we empower all European citizens and ensure they are better prepared for crises?
- How can we ensure that the measures and initiatives under the EU Strategy for a Crisis-Resilient Union are inclusive and effective, and meet the needs of all citizens?
Group photo of the Citizens’ Panel on “Crisis Preparedness”
The recommendations focus on the areas of communication, information integrity, inclusion, self-reliance, engagement and education, and can be viewed here (PDF in English). Further information is also available on the European Commission’s website on civic participation.
Duration: 01/2026 – 06/2026
Client: European Commission, DG COMM
Team: Jakob Birkenhäger (panel lead), Ina Metzner (project management), Wiebke Blum, Philipp Offermann
project partner: DemocracyX, Deliberativa, Carbon Copy
Photos: European Commission