Croatia is one of four EU member states which will host strategic reserves of material and equipment in the event of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, the European Commission said on Monday.

The Commission is building strategic reserves of response capacities through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority in order to improve EU preparedness and response to those threats.

“Today, Croatia, France, and Poland have joined Finland in hosting the rescEU stockpiles worth in total €545.6 million,” the Commission said.

The reserves will include antidotes, antibiotics, vaccines, sedatives, and prophylactic treatments and specific CBRN response equipment, such as detectors and decontamination supplies and personal protective equipment such as gas masks and protection suits).

The establishment of the four stockpiles represent a cross-sectoral cooperation between the EU’s health and civil protection authorities, and once established, member states will be able to request the mobilisation of relevant stock via the Emergency Response Coordination Centre.

People may be exposed to CBRN agents as a result of unintentional disasters such as a chemical plant leak, nuclear power plant incidents, and the spread of an infectious disease, or intentional incidents such as a terrorist attack.

Moreover, the Commission said, “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine further stressed the need for strategic stockpiles of accessible critical medical countermeasures and CBRN response equipment to protect EU citizens, in particular in case of CBRN attacks or accidents.”