ERA-NET initiative aims to improve security at major European events

Brussels, 07 Dec 2004

On 6 December, the Commission announced the launch of a new four year ERA-NET initiative entitled 'Coordinating national research programmes on security during major events in Europe' (EU-SEC).

The Commission has identified a growing need for effective security at major national and international events, with possible threats including terrorism, organised crime, protest actions that descend into violence, and football hooliganism. Large sporting events, summit meetings and mass public gatherings for entertainment or protest are all potential targets, and present particular security challenges.

However, such security challenges - and the strategies for dealing with them - are often very similar from country to country, yet there is currently no international mechanism to promote cooperation and coordination among national security research programmes.

In response, the EU-SEC initiative brings together ten national security agencies, along with two international crime-fighting organisations - EUROPOL (the European Police Agency) and UNICRI (the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute). Through a process of strengthened transnational coordination, these partners aim to maximise the effectiveness of their research activities and thus better respond to the new borderless nature of such threats.

For further information, please contact:
Patrick Vittet-Philippe
Press and Information Officer, DG Research
E-mail: patrick.vittet-philippe@cec.eu.int

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