Poland, France and Croatia have joined Finland in hosting an EU reserve of resources (rescEU) set up to protect citizens from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats and disasters.

The move comes as the European Commission seeks to improve its preparedness for public health risks by building up strategic reserves of emergency equipment through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

The reserve consists of equipment and medicines, vaccines and other therapeutics to treat patients exposed to CBRN emergencies agents, as well as decontamination equipment and expert response teams. 

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