this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2025
447 points (98.9% liked)

Europe

5107 readers
1745 users here now

News and information from Europe 🇪🇺

(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)

Rules (2024-08-30)

  1. This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
  2. No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
  3. Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
  4. No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism.
  5. Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
  6. If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
  7. Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in [email protected]. (They're cool, you should subscribe there too!)
  8. Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
  9. No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)

(This list may get expanded when necessary.)

We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.

If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.

If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to the mods: @[email protected], @[email protected], or @[email protected].

founded 9 months ago
MODERATORS
 

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.26-113538/https://www.ft.com/content/eeb1ee80-00b8-4f9f-b560-a6717a80d58d

EU households should stockpile essential supplies to survive at least 72 hours of crisis, Brussels has proposed, as Russia’s war in Ukraine and a darkening geopolitical landscape prompt the bloc to take new steps to increase its security.

The continuing conflict in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic that brutally exposed a lack of crisis response capabilities and the Trump administration’s adversarial stance towards Europe have forced the continent to rethink its vulnerabilities and increase spending on defence and security.

The new initiative comes as European intelligence agencies warn that Russia could attack an EU member state within three to five years, adding to natural threats including floods and wildfires worsened by climate change and societal risks such as financial crises.

Europe faced increased threats “including the possibility of armed aggression against member states”, the European Commission warned on Wednesday as it published a 30-step plan for its 27 capitals to increase their preparedness for crisis and mitigation measures.

(page 2) 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Meanwhile, here in the Uk our government is making sure we won't have enough money to buy more than two days of food at a time.

[–] thatKamGuy 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I mean, 14 consecutive years of Conservative leadership will do that to the best of nations.

No doubt the UK has a MASSIVE uphill struggle ahead to bring back a sense of prosperity for its people, but it’s a bit disingenuous to make it sound as though it’s the fault of a Government that’s been in power for less than a year so far.

It can take mere seconds to destroy something, and multiple times longer than that to fix it.

In Australia, we are a couple years ahead of the UK (in terms of our first Labor Gov’t following a decade+ of Conservative leadership); things don’t magically get better overnight, but we are at least on the correct path now — here’s hoping we don’t fuck things up by voting the Cons back in later this year 😫

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

Oh I'm well aware that the Con govmnt has been an appalling dismantling of our country, but Labour are so far appearing to largely be following suit. Remember the Tory repetition about the need for austerity? It just feels like a repeat of that, to put it very breifly. I know 14 years can't be fixed overnight, but shitting on the poor and needy, who have been suffering the most already is just grotesque. There's plenty of condemnation by journalists and MPs alike for this as well as some calls to tax the rich instead.

I've never voted for either so I'm looking at what they do through neutral(ish!) eyes and I don't see politics so much an ever increasing pandering to the corporate economy (over decades).

I can't say I'm too knowledgable about Aus politics, but got glimpses of how bad your last govmnt was through the Guardian. Hope you have a better time than us with a new set of faces!

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Hello ~~darkness~~ canned bread, my old friend

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Can you get that?

My plan has just been flour (or grain and a grinder if it's more like 72 days) and more time spent baking.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Hope you're also planning to keep that oven going if there is a power outage...

It's something a lot of people (myself included) keep forgetting that without electricity, both your fridge and your stove / oven stop working.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I've cooked over open fires before and could do it again. I can even start one without a match.

The grinder would need a generator or solar panel, though. Thankfully both are fairly plentiful in my area, and depending on the situation oil production could continue to some degree. If it's comes to mortar and pestle I should maybe just die.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

72 hours? No problem. Always have a big bag of rice on hand and you're done.

[–] Tar_alcaran 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Only if you have lots of water too. And preferably some way to heat it (though you can totally swell rice in cold water)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This brings up an important point. You should have something like a camping stove running on propane or similar stored fuel.

If the water supply fails you need to be able to cook water for drinking purposes.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Canned food is a good alternative

[–] Tar_alcaran 6 points 1 week ago

I just have a stack of canned stuff I rotate through. I put new ones at the bottom, and make sure the stack in always 4 cans tall. Costs nothing, things are always in stock on the shelves, and in case of emergency, there's food.

Of course, I also live about 5 meters below sea level, so if we have real, world war level problems and the pumps shut down and/someone blows up the dikes, I'm not going to shelter in place for months anyway.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm happy I'm growing my own food.

Though I don't think much will happen to Ireland.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Canada here. Same for us in the food department. though I am less enthused about what may happen to us with yam tits raging downstairs.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yam tits! That is genuinely a new one for me. Excellent.

I'll never, as long as I may live, get over the utter embarrassment of being born and raised in a country who could support that maniac. I suppose the worst thing I could do is leave. The only way to alleviate my shame is to stay and keep voting for the least insane option.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

I freely admit I stole Yam TIts from another Lemmy user and I can't remember who or I would certainly give them credit. I feel it gets right to the point one is trying to convey.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I've almost fully figured out how to live off just cans at this point. I also have a basement greenhouse in the works, although I've been pleasantly surprised by the local commercial options.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago (4 children)

We live rurally and don't have much money as I have been disabled for almost a decade now. What we do have is seeds and gardens. Loads of them. A large greenhouse as well. We started a small farm before I got sick with the idea that if it didn't make money at least we would be able to eat. Then I got sick and we just continued to plant. We are fortunate to have planned early to have space to do so. At first we helped others set up homesteads and growing in our area as well and still do to some extent but guess what...we do eat and are not so beholden to the grocery oligarchs and economic system. Any little bit you can do helps.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago

I don't enjoy archived links that much, so here is the plan, straight from the EU.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago (19 children)

I read that as 72 days at first and thought something serious was expected soon. Oh, 72 HOURS. Who doesn't have that?

Also unless you are on the border, how useful is that likely to be? What would the expectation be, only short term supply chain disruption so shops may run out of something in the first few days but after that food supply will adjust to it?

load more comments (19 replies)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I could survive 72 hours on the food I have at home at any time, it won't be grand tho and I'll still need electricity to make most of it.

Once I move I'm planning on having a small stockpile (cause I'll finally have space for it) to last about 2 weeks or so, worst case I just need to eat it and restock it later and best case it saves me a lot of hassle in a crisis.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yeah, if you have the space to store stuff and make a fire for cooking it's just a matter of recipes and FIFOing your stockpile to keep everything nutritious and (in some cases) not stale. If I was in a confined space it would be much more of a challenge, I might end up going with surplus military rations. That's basically what they're designed for, after all.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I have about a month stocked up. I want a years worth.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

Develop minimum preparedness criteria for essential services such as hospitals, schools, transport, and telecommunications.

I hope they are taking this point seriously so that privatized welfare no longer gets special treatment.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

Including bottled water?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

may be is start of ww-3; winter is coming

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›