The EU's 72-hour advice: what it actually means for your household

What the EU actually said

Updated 30 October 2026

On 26 March 2025 the European Commission published its Preparedness Union Strategy: 30 key actions to get the EU and its governments ready for "emerging threats and crises" of every kind. Most of it is about governments: a crisis hub, stockpiles of critical equipment, EU-wide exercises.

One line is about you. The Commission will "encourage the public to adopt practical measures, such as maintaining essential supplies for a minimum of 72 hours in emergencies." It also proposed putting preparedness into school lessons and holding an EU Preparedness Day.

What the strategy did not do is give you a list. As of late October 2026 I could find no official EU-wide household kit list or published 72-hour guidelines. The detail is coming country by country instead. The Netherlands launched its "Denk vooruit" (Think ahead) campaign on 3 November 2025, built around 72 hours without water, power or internet. Luxembourg began sending a printed "Guide to 72 Hours of Self-Sufficiency" to every household, about 300,000 copies, from 14 October 2026. The UK, outside the EU, launched its own Be Ready campaign a week later.

Plenty of people feel unready. In the EU's 2024 Eurobarometer survey, almost two-thirds said they needed more information to prepare for emergencies, and almost four in ten said they lacked the time or money.

Why 72 hours?

The press release doesn't explain the number, but it matches what happens in most outages. The first three days are when the shops are cash-only, the phone masts run out of battery, and the water pressure drops in tall buildings. After that, either things are back or the authorities have organised water points, shelters and information.

Seventy-two hours is also a number people will actually do. It is three days of the food you already eat and a few big bottles of water. The Iberian blackout of April 2025 was over in less than a day for most people, and still showed how much stops in the first few hours.

What each country recommends

A few details worth borrowing. The Dutch suggest keeping €70 in cash per adult and €30 per child. Sweden's 3–5 litres covers drinking, cooking and basic hygiene. Germany's 2 litres a day comes to 20 litres each for ten days. Finland warns you may need to switch off ventilation and seal windows if told to shelter indoors. The UK says build the kit gradually as you shop.

The differences are mostly about what the water is for. Three litres covers drinking. Once you add cooking, washing hands and a cut, it is nearer four or five, which is why Sweden says 3–5 and my book plans on 4. The water guide has the full table for families.

A 72-hour kit for your home

This is the Dutch government's list, which is the most complete official one I found, merged with the book's. It is a home kit, not a bag for running away; for that, see the go-bag list.

Water and food

• Bottled water: 3 litres per person per day, so 9 litres each. I would make it 12.
• Three days of long-life food you already eat, that needs no fridge and little or no cooking: crackers, tinned fish and beans, peanut butter, muesli, dried fruit, nuts
• A manual tin opener
• Baby food and formula if needed; pet food and water

Light, power and news

• A battery or wind-up radio, with spare batteries
• A torch for each person, and spare batteries kept outside the torch
• A phone with a charged power bank
• Candles and matches, used only in a dish or jar and never while anyone sleeps

Health

• Your daily medicines, at least a few days' extra, and a written list of them
• A first-aid kit
• Hygiene items: soap, toilet paper, wet wipes, sanitary products, nappies

Paper and the rest

• Cash in small notes and coins
• Copies of ID and important documents in a waterproof bag
• Important phone numbers written on paper
• Blankets or sleeping bags
• A whistle, basic tools and spare house and car keys

Where to keep it

One shelf or one box, between you and the front door, and everyone in the house over ten knows where it is. Water goes on the floor underneath, because 50 litres weighs 50 kilograms. Dangerous things, bleach, matches and knives, go on the top shelf.

The emergency things stay emergency things. The batteries in the kit are not for the TV remote. Check it twice a year; the clock changes in March and October are an easy reminder. Eat the food before it expires and replace it, new at the back, old at the front.

Write the radio frequencies down now

Every national list includes a battery radio, because when the mobile network fails, broadcast radio keeps going on generators. But the night you need a frequency is the night you can't look it up. Write your national broadcaster's FM and AM frequencies and two local stations on a card, tape it to the radio, and tune to each one once so you know it works.

Build it in a month, without spending much

You don't need to buy it all at once, and you shouldn't buy a ready-made "survival bag". The UK government's advice is the right one: check your cupboards first, then pick up what's missing a little at a time during normal shopping. The Dutch say the same about the cash. Most homes already have half the list. My budget guide has the one-item-a-week method and what to buy first.