The German government wants to push for a European tsunami early warning system for European coasts. Research minister Annette Schavan said that tsunamis were not impossible in Europe, especially under climate change. The CDU politician suggested to implement the system in the Mediterranean Sea and at the Atlantic coast.

She announced she would push for including the costs for such a system in the European budget. At an international conference for early warning systems in Bonn in March the project will be discussed. After the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia the German government currently also supports the construction and implementation of an early-warning system in the Indian Ocean .