People in the EU are being advised to stockpile enough food, water and essentials for 72 hours as part of a European strategy that aims to increase readiness for catastrophic floods and fires, pandemics and military attacks.

Outlining its first preparedness strategy, the European Commission said it wanted to encourage citizens to take “proactive measures to prepare for crises, such as developing household emergency plans and stockpiling essential supplies”.

The strategy was partly inspired by plans in Germany and the Nordic countries, which have distributed public information pamphlets and devised apps advising people what to do in the event of a military attack or other national crisis.

“We are saying to member states: 72 hours of self-sufficiency is what we recommend,” Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for preparedness and crisis management, told reporters. Asked about what citizens should stockpile, she referred to a video on her social media, in which she presents an emergency bag.

To a soundtrack of off-key jazz piano, Lahbib is shown on the video discussing her emergency stockpile in a tongue-in-cheek way, including ID documents in waterproof casing, canned food, bottled water, matches, a Swiss army knife, cash, playing cards, medicines and a small radio.

The strategy was devised to ensure better EU coordination and public awareness in response to a range of potential risks, such as extreme weather exacerbated by the climate crisis, pandemics, cyber-attacks and military invasions. “We must prepare for large-scale, cross-sectoral incidents and crises, including the possibility of armed aggression, affecting one or more member states,” the document states.

The commission is also calling for a Europe-wide preparedness day to raise awareness; for the topic to be put on school curriculums; and for an EU “stockpiling strategy” to ensure adequate supplies of raw materials, shelters, generators, and “potentially” food and water.

While the EU has no powers over civilian or military uniformed services, it has carved out a bigger role in crisis response since the Covid pandemic led to the unprecedented common purchases of vaccines and medical equipment. Now it wants to go further after a report from the former Finnish president Sauli Niinistö last year found there was no “clear plan” on what the EU would do “in the event of armed aggression against a member state”. Nïïnistö, a special adviser to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU was better prepared to deal with crises and disasters than five years ago, but needed a change of mindset and more planning to anticipate crises.

The plans are likely to provoke a mixed response from EU member states, who perceive threats in different ways. Last week, the European Commission rebranded its military spending plans “Readiness 2030”, instead of Rearm Europe, after complaints from the leaders of Italy and Spain, who argued the language risked alienating people.

In contrast, northern European countries have led the way in emergency planning. Swedish authorities recommend keeping at home a good supply of water, energy-rich food, blankets and alternative heating, as well as investing in a battery-powered radio. Norway advises people to stock up on non-essential medicines, including iodine tablets in the case of a nuclear incident. German households have been urged to adapt their own cellars, garages or store rooms for use as bunkers, while housebuilders will be legally obliged to include safe shelters in new homes – as Poland has already done.

Roxana Mînzatu, a commission vice-president, responded to accusations of scaremongering, likening preparedness to taking out accident insurance: “It doesn’t mean much more than the fact that you want to be prepared and you want to minimise the damage, the costs, the suffering that you might go through.”

Mînzatu, who admitted she did not have a three-day stockpile, citing her mobile lifestyle as the reason, said the dividend of peace had given people a sense “it’s not going to happen to us” despite seeing disastrous wildfires in Greece or floods in Spain. “I’m a good example of what we need to do,” she said.

Lahbib, who said she did have her 72-hour supplies, including ingredients for pasta alla puttanesca, said it was up to member states to define what was needed “on the basis of the geopolitical and geostrategic position they’re in”.

The Belgian commissioner noted that in Finland young people were taught how to handle a weapon, “but I don’t think that’s the kind of thing you’d have here in Belgium or France, not immediately, at any rate. It differs from one country to another, but we can learn from each other.”

The strategy was published the day after Denmark’s defence ministry announced it was bringing forward plans to introduce military service for women by two years.

Women who turn 18 after 1 July 2025 could be required to take part in an annual ballot from next year to determine if they must perform mandatory military service, something which is already required of men.