(fra Kommisjonens rapport 10.3.2026)

The European Union is facing growing risks and unprecedented threats in multiple sectors. These risks range from heightened uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and conflicts, cybersecurity and information manipulation risks, to climate change and increasing risks of natural hazards. To boost the EU’s ability to anticipate, prevent and respond to these threats, the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) jointly presented on 26 March 2025 the preparedness union strategy 1 . The EU’s financial sector plays a key role in maintaining vital societal functions under all circumstances. This is why, as part of the preparedness union strategy, and delivering on action 25 of the annex of the joint communication, the Commission is undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the level of preparedness in the financial sector. In particular, it is assessing the sector’s capacity to continue to carry out its critical functions, such as making payments and funding the economy, under all circumstances.

The EU’s financial services legislation is built on a solid tradition of prudence, precaution, resilience and anticipation. The objectives are clear: to preserve financial stability, the orderly resolution of any failing financial institutions, crisis management and deposit insurance, investor protection and market integrity. The EU completed a comprehensive overhaul of its prudential rules and of the banking supervision architecture following the Great Financial Crisis initiated in 2007. These reforms have strengthened the EU’s financial institutions, its capital markets and financial market infrastructure providers.

Today the EU’s financial sector has achieved a high level of resilience by consolidating three pillars: (i) risk-based capital for banks and financial institutions, (ii) governance and transparency requirements and (iii) supervisory cooperation mechanisms across Member States and across sectors. The EU has put in place policies and principles that produce continued assessments of the risks of extreme events in operational risk frameworks, business continuity and contingency plans.

The EU framework has been tested by several episodes of crises in recent years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s aggression of Ukraine, the US regional banking crisis and Credit Suisse crisis in 2023, power blackouts, cyberattacks and hybrid incidents. In the face of these crises, the EU financial sector has demonstrated robustness and resilience. Authorities at EU and national levels have acted swiftly and effectively.

In general, preparedness is not static; it is a dynamic, forward-looking state. It requires a continuous cycle of planning, training, equipping, testing, evaluating and improving. It requires a focus on readiness to deal with all hazards by anticipating risks, developing capabilities, coordinating across sectors (government, private, public) and learning from past events to build resilient communities that can prevent, protect and recover when a crisis hits. This applies equally to the financial sector.

This report provides an overview of the current state of preparedness of the EU financial sector, building on continued discussions with the European Central Bank, the European Supervisory Authorities, the European Systemic Risk Board, the Single Resolution Board, Member States and the financial services industry.