On the 13th of December the European Commission is proposing new rules to strengthen the use of Advance Passenger Information (API) data. This proposal is one of the key actions identified in the EU Security Union Strategy. The EU continues its progress in strengthening its overall security architecture, which aims to enhance EU citizens' protection, as shown also in the Fifth Security Union Progress Report. The report highlights three years of solid progress in implementing the Security Union Strategy. It shows that significant steps have been made in strengthening the protection of critical infrastructures from physical, cyber and hybrid attacks, in fighting terrorism and radicalisation, as well as in the fight against organised crime.
Soft targets
A new dedicated website on the JRC Tools and Data to Counter Terrorism has just been released. Visit the site to learn more about blast and vehicle ramming tools and Europlexus (the simulation software dedicated to the analysis of fast transient phenomena). This site is managed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
The Security by Design book is published! The handbook introduces the innovative concept of security by design by promoting together with the protection aspect also a practical implementation in the design and redesign of public spaces. It was drafted by a broad range of experts in the security field coming from the European Commission and the academia. This book aims at addressing the practical concerns of integrating security measures for project teams, security operators, urban planners and anyone involved in public space projects.
Europol has published its EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2021, which provides figures and analysis of terrorist attacks and terrorism-related arrests in the European Union in 2020.
This guide provides a list of the available information sources focusing on the protection of public spaces against terrorist and other types of malicious extremist attacks
The project aims to strengthen the capabilities of local and regional authorities in ensuring the security of public spaces and the protection of soft targets (for example, sport venues, shopping malls, schools or transport systems) against potential risks.
The H2020 project ENTRAP was successfully completed. Its objective was to support practitioners who protect society from, and respond to, incidents involving improvised-explosive-devices threats by delivering combined operational research methods for the identification and assessment of emerging and future counter-measures. The work has resulted in a number of deliverable available for use by practitioners.
Attacks on people exercising their fundamental right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion in churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship continue to occur with dreadful consistency across Europe. Nice, Paris, Hanau, Bayonne, Copenhagen, Baerum, Rouen and Halle are the most recent additions to the increasing list of terrorist attacks on places of worship. This article looks into the aspects that need to be considered when planning the physical protection scheme of places of worship.
The European Commission is organizing an EU Digital Autumn School which will offer specialized workshops on a broad spectrum of topics related to the protection of public spaces.
Presentations by a broad range of experts in the field (policy makers, security experts, urban designers, cultural geographers), citizen debates, presentations of European projects related to security, workshops on the use of new technologies for security
A lot can be done to deter and mitigate the impact of terrorist attacks, while maintaining the attractiveness and openness of our cities. Under the European Commission's 'Action Plan to Support the Protection of Public Spaces' , there are various initiatives for promoting the exchange of best practices, networks creation, funding of security-related projects and publication of guidance material. These initiatives have further reinforced the realization that security is best achieved if addressed from the very beginning of the planning and design of a public space – a concept commonly referred to as security by design in the protection of public spaces.