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Belgium has urged its population to prepare an emergency kit capable of ensuring 72 hours of self-sufficiency, including food, water, medicines, and essential items.
The recommendation is part of a national campaign led by the Belgian Crisis Centre, but it is far from an isolated move. In recent years, the European Union has been encouraging citizens to be prepared for crisis scenarios — from natural disasters to cyberattacks and geopolitical conflicts.
The official message avoids alarmism, but the underlying signal is clear: the world has become more unpredictable. Authorities point to rising risks such as wars, extreme climate events, infrastructure failures, and hybrid attacks as reasons for this shift in approach.
Belgium itself has already experienced events that highlight this vulnerability — including deadly floods, terrorist attacks, and failures in critical services. Experts argue that “crises are no longer exceptions, but the new normal.”
More than just an emergency kit, this movement reveals something deeper: a transition from a culture of stability to a culture of preparedness.
For decades, Europe built the idea of security as a given. Today, governments are beginning to acknowledge — albeit cautiously — that this stability can no longer be taken for granted.
Preparedness is no longer exceptional. It is becoming part of everyday life.
When governments stop speaking only about prevention and begin speaking about preparation, what does that reveal about the world we are entering?
