SCIENCE ADVICE FOR POLICY
BY EUROPEAN ACADEMIES

Strategic crisis management in the EU

The European Union is confronted with an increasing number of crises with growing complexity, causing suffering and other devastating consequences. Improving crisis management has become an essential issue for protecting and enhancing present and future wellbeing in the EU and globally.

In response to this challenge, the Scientific Advice Mechanism to the European Commission – consisting of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors and SAPEA – and the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies are presenting policy recommendations to improve crisis management frameworks. 

Recommendations from the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors

Statement from the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies

Working group members

Professor
University of Maastricht, Netherlands

Professor
University College London, UK

Professor
Leiden University, Netherlands

Professor
Technical University of Munich, Germany

Professor
Stockholm University, Sweden

Assistant Professor
Bocconi University, Italy

Professor
ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Associate Professor
Kozminski University, Poland

Professor
University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Professor
Örebro University, Sweden
University College London, UK

Professor
Finnish Centre for Military Medicine, Finland

Professor
Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Germany

Professor
Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Spain

Assistant Professor
Institut Polytechnique de Paris, France

Professor
Mines Paris-PSL, France; Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Policy impact

Events

GLOBE EU Wakeup Call #14 with Thomas Elmqvist and Céline Tschirhart
Scientific symposium ‘Crises and the Importance of Research: How Prepared Can We Be?
How can public services help us respond to various crises such as conflict and climate change? What role do different actors play in preparing for future pandemics? What lessons can we learn from civil emergencies regarding researchers’ access to data, and how can we apply these lessons to future processes? On 22 June 2023, the scientific symposium ‘Crises and the Importance of Research: How Prepared Can We Be?’ invites international experts to explore how research contributes to responding to and preparing for multiple and entangled crises of our times.
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Are we ready for the next cross-border health crisis?
The European Union was not ready for COVID-19, despite the history of the spread of serious infectious diseases and the presence of special services and road maps. The cost of COVID-19 and its cascading effects is still adding up and may soon exceed 3 trillion euros. The probability of such events to occur is difficult to calculate. This is particularly true for new health threats, since mutations occur completely randomly. 
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Webinar: Be prepared - Can we forecast the next crisis and be ready to manage it?
When a crisis does strike, what do we need to know in deciding on effective action? How do we make sense of incoming information and data? Is it possible to build trust across our communities, and establish effective communications? Join our panel of experts to discuss these critical issues, where we consider some of the lessons learnt from recent crises and what is needed for the future. You, the audience, will have the opportunity to pose questions and be part of the debate. Our webinar is free and open to all.
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Second Conference on the Ukraine crisis: One Year of War in Ukraine, Exploring the Impact on the Science Sector and Supporting Initiatives
The conference aims to mobilise the scientific community to critically examine the surge of protection and support efforts during the past year and assess ways forward for enhanced long-term support and post-conflict reconstruction.
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Library Talk: Improving crisis management in the EU: a discussion with the Commission’s science and ethics advisors
For over a decade, we’ve been hit by one crisis after another, from financial meltdowns to the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating natural disasters fueled by climate change, and geopolitical tensions like Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine. How to better prepare, respond and recover from crises that escalate fast and reach an international or even global dimension? In this non-public Library Talk, representatives of the groups of independent scientific and ethics advisors will discuss their findings together with colleagues from DG JRC, DG REFORM and DG ECHO, exploring how best to integrate the experts’ recommendations into the work of the EU institutions.
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Why do we need public trust in times of crisis?
This event will particularly look into issues of trust between citizens and public institutions. It will discuss why trust in turbulent times of crisis is such an essential principle, how to build it and when, who we trust and why, and who we should trust. It will explore how social sciences, local-embedded knowledge and communities’ perspectives are brought in advising into strategic crisis management.  
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European Parliament: STOA Panel for the Future of Science and Technology
This meeting will feature a presentation of our reports on strategic crisis management in Europe, and of the outcomes of the study 'Social approach to the transition to smart cities'.
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Putting people first
How do we care for each other, build resilience and solidarity in a world in crisis?
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Entangled crises: how can the EU help?
The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the war in Ukraine, refugee crises, inflation... these crises and more have recently dominated headlines. They cross national borders and sectors, and are complex and long-term in nature. Evidence shows that the cascading and rippling effects of crises extend to all parts of our society and the natural environment.  
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Handover of advice on crisis management
Handover of the SAPEA evidence review report, the GCSA scientific opinion and the EGE statement on Strategic Crisis Management in the EU to Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and Commissioner Janez Lenarčič
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Northern European Emergency and Disaster Studies Conference
What is the best response to the contagion of a novel virus? How can the next pandemic be avoided? Is it feasible to halt global warming? And how can we become resilient to more extreme weather events? These are all questions that are fundament to academic disaster studies, but can now be read in the newspapers or heard on the news almost on a daily basis. These questions can only be answered with an inter-disciplinary lens.
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COP27 - All things considered: the role of expert advice in climate-related crises
This session discussed the role of expert advice in strategic crisis management.
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Apocalypse Tomorrow: What Should Scientists Do to Prepare for the Next Major Crisis?
In the autumn of 2022, the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) will publish a major piece of advice on strategic crisis management for the EU. Based on a broad and multidisciplinary understanding, the work will inform policymakers on how the EU can improve its strategic crisis management. This builds on previous work during the COVID-19 crisis on how to improve pandemic preparedness and management in the EU, conducted in partnership with the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies.
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News

24 July 2023: How to be ready for wildfires? Professor Thomas Elmqvist
An interview with Thomas Elmqvist, Professor of Stockholm University, Stockholm Resilience Centre and one of the world’s most cited scientists. Professor Elmqvist is a part of the group of scientists from SAPEA that advised the European Commission on crisis management last year. Their report “Strategic crisis management in the EU” informed policy recommendations by the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors to the European Commission. What does management of wildfires have in common with the general approach to crisis management? Thomas: In the European Union and the member states as well, there’s been a lot of focus on reactive measures to crisis, that when it happens, develop strategies how to deal with the consequences. But research points out that we need to become better at preparing, developing proactive measures to reduce the risk. In the science of crisis management, we’re talking often about polycrisis. While we might be able to handle one crisis at a time, when we have several...
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22 November 2022: Europe needs better, more strategic crisis management, according to independent scientific and ethics advisors
The European Union is dealing with an increasing number of complex, overlapping cross-border crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to the scientific and ethical recommendations given to the Commission in Strasbourg, the Union has to improve how it prepares for and responds to crises. An evidence review report, policy recommendations, and a detailed ethics statement have been prepared by the EU Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) and the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) and have been jointly presented to Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth, and Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management. Commissioner Gabriel said: “Expert advice is pivotal in moments of crisis, as COVID-19 and climate change have shown. I welcome the contributions of the Scientific Advice Mechanism and the European Group on Ethics, whose collaborative work has become a pillar...
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Academic impact

Media coverage

08 June 2023: Prevention Web
Strategic crisis management in the EU: Improving EU crisis prevention, preparedness, response and resilience
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27 April 2023: Science Media Hub
Prof. Maarja Kruusmaa: Nowadays crises are complex, spread quickly and come in cascades
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20 April 2023: Horizon Magazine
In polycrisis world, Europe gains from sharing emergency supplies and tapping expertise
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13 March 2023: The Council of Finnish Academies
Strategic Crisis Management in the European Union
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28 November 2022: Knowledge UniBocconi
An Economic Historian Advises on How to Handle Future Crises
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28 November 2022: ERA Portal Austria
Scientific and ethics advisors find Europe needs better, more strategic crisis management
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28 November 2022: The Lancet
Values in challenging times: Strategic crisis management in the EU
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23 November 2022: Raoul Wallenberg Institute
Values in times of crisis: Strategic crisis management in the EU
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23 November 2022: ALLEA
STRATEGIC CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
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23 November 2022: Academia Europaea
New reports on Strategic Crisis Management in the EU
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23 November 2022: akadeemia.ee
EUROOPA TEADUSNÕUSTAJAD: AINA KEERUKAMAD KRIISID NÕUAVAD UUT TÜÜPI JUHTIMIST
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23 November 2022: TEADUS
Euroopa teadusnõustajad: paljudes riikides puuduvad plaanid kriitilise infrastruktuuri kaitseks
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23 November 2022: IASS Potsdam
Europe needs more strategic crisis management
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23 November 2022: The Lancet
Values in challenging times: Strategic crisis management in the EU
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23 November 2022: politikwissenchaft
Handover of the SAPEA evidence review report, the GCSA scientific opinion and the EGE statement on Strategic Crisis Management in the EU to EU Commissioners
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23 November 2022: TU Delft
TU Delft helps the EU to improve strategic crisis management
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16 September 2022: 4TU Centre for Resilience Engineering
Tina Comes hands over Evidence Review Report on European Strategic Crisis Management in Brussels
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16 August 2022: Academia Europaea
SAPEA Crisis Management Report
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