Do European Elites Really Think War Is Coming?

 A few weeks ago, France announced that it was preparing a survival manual for every household. A couple weeks later, media reported that "[t]he EU wants every member state to develop a 72-hour survival kit for citizens to face any new crisis that might emerge as part of its Preparedness Union Strategy which also calls for more stockpiling of essential supplies and for improved civilian-military cooperation." 

    Then, this past weekend, the Daily Mail ran this headline: "Brits should prepare a 72 hour 'survival kit' as Putin plots to sabotage gas pipelines and cause mass blackouts, warn spies." The article explains:

    As the UK pursues Net Zero environmental targets – leading to the closure of coal-fired power stations – the country has become increasingly reliant on supplies of gas and electricity from abroad in order to 'keep the lights on'.

    Nearly 40 per cent of the UK's gas supply is imported from Norway, much of which comes through the single, 700-mile Langeled pipeline.

    Concerns that the Russians are planning a sabotage operation have escalated since one of their spy ships, the Yantar, was detected mapping the UK's critical underwater infrastructure in the North Sea in recent months.

    With the UK reported to have come close to blackouts during the past winter – saved only by emergency reserves and electricity imported undersea from Denmark – security experts have argued that British households should follow the example of the EU, which has advised citizens to pack a three-day survival kit.

    This should include water, non-perishable food, medicines, a battery-powered radio, a torch, identity documents and a Swiss Army knife.

And, today, "Germany tells teachers to get children ready for WAR: Schools urged to give 'greater focus' to civil protection after EU told citizens to prep 72-hour survival kits amid growing WW3 threat." That article relates:

    Germany's Interior Ministry has called for civil defence training in schools and is urging citizens to stockpile food, water and essentials in response to the deteriorating security situation in Europe and a growing WW3 threat.

    The unprecedented move, confirmed in a statement to Handelsblatt newspaper, would see German schoolchildren taught how to respond in volatile war-like scenarios.

    A ministry spokesman said civil protection 'should be given greater focus, including in schools', given the alarming recent geopolitical developments and expert testimonies that Russia could be ready to strike NATO territory within a few years.

    Defence spokesperson Roderich Kiesewetter for the conservative CDU party said it was 'absolutely necessary' for schoolchildren to train for emergencies, calling them 'especially vulnerable and particularly affected in an emergency'.

    He is calling for mandatory basic training in disaster response, modelled on systems in Finland, which has been preparing citizens for the possibility of a war with Vladimir Putin's Russia for years.

    Berlin says it even stands ready to provide all schools and teachers with national crisis materials via the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) - and this is although technically education matters are something decided independently by each federal state.

    The ministry also approved a new EU Commission initiative on wartime readiness, and recommended that all German citizens even prepare emergency supplies to last at least 72 hours as per recommendations from the European Union.

    Don't get me wrong: I commend efforts to encourage citizenry to prepare for disasters. But I also realize that most governments care little for their citizens and discourage anything that might make their citizens less dependent on government. In that regard, it comes across as scaremongering intended to influence public opinion.