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EurActiv (21 January 2019)

The EU defines risk management capability as ‘the ability of a Member State or its regions to reduce, adapt to or mitigate risks (impacts and likelihood of a disaster), identified in its risk assessments to levels that are acceptable in that Member State’. The approach is focused on the prevention of natural and man-made disasters setting out an overall disaster prevention framework and proposing measures to minimise the impacts of disasters.

Risk management capability is assessed in terms of the ‘technical, financial and administrative capacity’ of a Member State, either at national or the appropriate sub-national level, to carry out adequate (a) risk assessments; (b) risk management planning for prevention and preparedness; and (c) risk prevention and preparedness measures.

As the world becomes more complex and interconnected, sudden and dramatic breakdowns — future shocks — become more likely, such as global supply chain risk, bilateral trade wars, populism, extinction, economic/ financial crises.

But the European Commission currently lacks an overarching function looking at the growing number of risks – environmental, cyber, systemic, geo-political – affecting Europe.

EURACTIV invites you to this high-level forum, co-inciding with the publication and presentation at WEF 2019 of Zurich’s 14th edition of the ‘Global Risks Report’, to discuss the different risks facing Europe in 2019 and how the Commission and Member States can best confront them.

Questions will include:

• How should ‘risk assessment’ be defined?
• What role for technological, scientific and financial resources to manage the evolving global risks landscape?
• How can we manage the increasingly complex systemic risks we face?
• How can we build a more resilient tomorrow and act with a stronger sense of urgency to avoid a potential system collapse?
• How can businesses best prepare and respond to global risks?