Protection of Public Spaces and Counter-UAS Interest Groups

In line with the EU Action Plan to Support the Protection of Public Spaces1, the staff working document on Good Practices to Support the Protection of Public Spaces2 and calls for additional support by Member States, the European Commission’s counter-terrorism unit within DG Migration and Home Affairs (HOME) has created two Interest Groups hosted on the Commission’s “CIRCABC” platform, namely the Protection of Public Spaces (PPS) Interest Group and the Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (Counter-UAS) Interest Group.

The CIRCABC platform is administered by the Commission and hosted on the Commission’s servers. The platform allows for the creation of collaborative spaces where users around the Union  can work together and share information and resources. The portal offers access to consolidated information and provides an avenue for exchange between policymakers and practitioners involved in different topics. The PPS Interest Group is intended for a broader audience including authorities and operators involved in all manner of work on securing public spaces. The Counter-UAS Interest Group, meanwhile, is squarely focused on supporting Member States on mitigating the threat to public spaces and other at-risk targets by UAS.

What’s kinds of information can I find in the Interest Groups?

The group’s members are welcome to upload content (e.g. publicly available reports, updates on relevant national legislation, information about recent incidents) to the platform as they see fit and appropriate. This can be done either by uploading content independently or with support from Commission staff.

What else can I do on the platform?

The platform allows for a certain degree of interactivity between the group’s members, for instance via the in-built discussion forum function. The Member States should feel free to use this function as they wish.

Who else will have access to the group?

These are both ‘closed’ CIRCABC groups, meaning that they are only available to Member State representatives, local and regional authorities, as well as staff from the Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament, the European External Action Service, and relevant EU Agencies. The PPS Interest Group is also open to relevant private stakeholders, for instance participants of the EU Operators’ Forum, and other stakeholders, e.g. those involved in relevant EU-funded projects.  

Joining the Interest Groups

If you/colleagues wish to join:

• Please click on these links for the PPS Interest Group and for the Counter-UAS Interest Group;
• Log in using your personal EU Login account. If you do not have one already, you will be given clear instructions on how to create one;
• Once you have logged in using your EU Login, you will be taken to a window where you will need to request membership in the group. Simply follow the instructions;
• You will be notified once you have been approved by the platform administrator at DG HOME, at which point you will have full access to the platform.

Is there anything in particular that I should be aware of before joining?

Some practical considerations are worth bearing in mind concerning membership in any CIRCABC group:

• It is not possible to participate in the Interest Group anonymously. Your name will be visible to the other members of the group;
• The platform allows you to customise your experience (e.g. how/if you are notified when new documents are uploaded) and the amount of personal information that is available to the other members of the group (e.g. your email address). Please have a look under “My account” in order to adjust the settings to your liking;
• A standard legal notice concerning CIRCABC can be found here.