A timely turn to preparedness? The role of time in EU civil protection and disaster management
(2026) European Law Unbound Society (ELU-S) Annual Conference 2026 — Location: Lisbon (September.2026)
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- Understood as a set of measures, rules, and practices aimed at protecting persons in the event of disasters, civil protection primarily seeks to anticipate and prepare populations against potential harm. Timing — and a sense of anticipation or urgency — is therefore an inherent feature of this field, both at the EU level and at the national level of its Member States. This paper examines the role that time and (perceived) urgency have played in the timid transfer of civil protection powers from the Member States to the EU. It does so through an analysis of the evolution of EU competence in this field, notably the gradual reforms of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, and the proliferation of ‘time markers’ therein. It argues that the Union’s growing exposure to natural and manmade disasters has justified a recent (and expanding) shift toward preparedness at the EU level, most emblematically embodied in the 2025 Preparedness Union strategy and its offspring. This analysis is part of a broader panel that explores the role of time in EU emergency law and governance and contributes to the discussion by focusing on the preparedness dimension of EU emergency or crisis management.
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Cabrita, T. (2026, September). A timely turn to preparedness? The role of time in EU civil protection and disaster management. European Law Unbound Society (ELU-S) Annual Conference 2026, Lisbon. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/279813