EU project improves security at major events
The European Commission has presented an EU-funded research project on improving security at major events to a conference at the United Nations' Headquarters in New York. The EU-SEC project, which is coordinated by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Centre (UNICRI), brings together the internal ministries and police of authorities of 10 EU Member States, as well as the European Police Agency. 'We all love to attend big events like the World Cup and the Olympics, but security at these mass events is a concern,' commented EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik. 'This project is a good example of research that will improve our lives and really demonstrates that we can do things much better when we work together.' The EU-SEC project started in 2004, and until now the partners have focused on networking activities, identifying relevant research programmes at national level and creating websites and manuals. Now the project is starting to look at developing a framework for creating joint research activities, pooling national resources in areas such as explosives detection and managing the flow of information to the public. The partners are also hoping to enhance their cooperation with the European Police College (CEPOL) and the 15 EU Member States which are currently not involved in the project. Under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) security research will have its own thematic priority with a budget of €1.35 billion over seven years. It will support research to protect Europeans from threats such as terrorism, natural disasters and crime. 'The Commission is determined to do its part to better protect our citizens and fund EU-wide targeted research efforts,' underlined Günter Verheugen, EU Commissioner for Enterprise and Industrial Policy. 'A strong European security research programme will also enhance Europe's competitive edge in many areas.'