Resilience Digest August’25

Europe’s Security Landscape: Risks, Opportunities, and Strategic Questions

Managing complexity: Risk and crisis managers must embrace systems thinking and agile planning to tackle interconnected modern risks.

From reaction to resilience: Focusing on High-Impact Low-Probability (HILP) events makes building organizational resilience a core leadership task.

Strategic positioning: EU risk assessments empower risk and crisis managers as strategic partners in security, sustainability, and future readiness.

Are we sufficiently prepared to maintain operations and communication in the event of rare, severe disruptions?

How do we position our organization as a resilience leader in the face of Europe’s evolving risk map?

How can insights from the EU Risk Atlas be systematically integrated into our organization’s enterprise-wide risk management processes?

Shared responsibility for national resilience: Total defense requires seamless cooperation among federal, regional, and local authorities in infrastructure, disaster preparedness, emergency services, and public administration.
Strategic planning and resource alignment: Civil servants must forecast funding, staffing, and crisis-management shifts to align inter-agency plans, standards, and legal duties amid rising defense and protection budgets.
Operational implications of the German OPLAN: OPLAN reshapes logistics, civil-military coordination, infrastructure readiness, and public communication – so leaders must grasp their roles to ensure clarity in crises and alliance scenarios.

Do we have coordinated continuity and civil protection strategies that align with the national shift toward total defense, especially in areas such as transport infrastructure, emergency services, and crisis communication?

How are our infrastructure and operational processes being adapted to meet OPLAN and civil protection requirements — including bridge load capacities, emergency fuel reserves, medical deployment sites, and protected communication lines?

How can Germany and Sweden harmonize their OPLAN frameworks and defense investments to ensure seamless interoperability and mutual support within NATO?

Dependence on external operational capability: Companies rely on external services (e.g. fire department, civil protection, THW), and if they’re unavailable due to dual roles, critical gaps arise in evacuation, technical support, and medical care.
Planning uncertainty in emergency and business continuity management (BCM): Uncertain public aid availability hampers realistic scenario planning and response times, forcing crisis managers to plan for reduced operational capacity.
Personal responsibility and resilience requirements are increasing: Companies must bolster preparedness with internal emergency teams, training, and private partnerships as the state no longer fully serves as a backstop.

How do we ensure that critical processes like evacuation, first aid, or fire protection are maintained if official resources are not fully available due to overlapping commitments?

Are our alerting and communication processes designed to coordinate alternative actions quickly if public response capabilities are compromised?

How can companies forge partnerships between private service providers and state emergency agencies to ensure seamless support during crises?