Toespraak Frattini over uitdagingen en kansen in het veiligheidsbeleid (en)

Security Research Conference

Berlin, 26 March 2007

Technology brings new challenges but also new opportunities. A click of a button or a call from a mobile phone sends information round the world instantly. New technology, with its speed and sophistication, negates traditional national borders. Terrorists also care nothing about national borders - they will attack wherever and whenever they feel they will obtain the maximum result.

Our response must be to welcome new technology. New technology is not the sole preserve of the terrorists or criminals. Governments and law enforcing agencies must use technology to better protect citizens' security. Our response must be as sophisticated as the criminals'.

We want to detect dangerous materials, such as explosives, before terrorists have a chance to use these. Our authorities must share information to catch terrorists and bringing them to justice.

It is not because we have recently had some success in the fight against terrorism that we should invest more and more in further security solutions. And this is why we are all here today.

EU security policy focuses on the interests of its citizens. We aim to achieve a European Security and Freedom policy that is more effective, efficient, coherent and easier to understand.

Cultural heritage, economic interests and political internal considerations have often slowed down international or wider coordinated approaches on security issues.

National security has always been a sensitive issue and developing a common, or at least a more coherent European internal security policy, is a real challenge requiring the best effort from all of us.

Public authorities should take the best decisions concerning security, while considering global competitiveness of European companies with respect to the Lisbon objectives.

The EU economy and EU citizens today need more security within the framework of a European approach.

Only through effective, coordinated and coherent cooperation at national and European level can we increase our capacity in a credible way to face new emerging threats and to meet the security concerns of our fellow citizens.

Only with common security solutions will Europe be able to play its expected international role, as producer of security and not only as consumer at the expenses of our Atlantic allies.

Thanks to European integration and to technological progress, we face fewer borders today than ever before. People, goods and services have become more mobile. Within our common space we barely perceive the legal existence of national boundaries. This is one of the main achievements of our 50 years long history and we are proud of it. It is not by chance that new Member States are eager to join the Schengen area as soon as possible and we are doing the best that we can to make this happen as soon as possible ; I hope already in December this year.

However we must make sure that terrorists, smugglers of human beings, drugs traffickers and criminals in general do not take advantage of our open borders.

In order to open our borders, we already use and will continue to make a massive use of technology: we are now running the Schengen Information System (SIS) and we are working on a new more powerful and efficient System (SIS II). We also want to create a common European legal framework for the use of biometrics in visas, passports, residence permits and identity documents.

We need increased and coordinated cooperation between Member States and neighboring countries on border control. This will also help in the control of illegal immigration. We are working on the development of more integrated border management and we are focusing on specific issues such as the maritime surveillance.

We are proposing to significantly strengthen FRONTEX.

More joint teams of border policing specialists should be deployed wherever there is a high incidence of attempted illegal entry and at all larger border checkpoints (the so called "RABIT").

Boundaries between internal and external security are disappearing. Our police officers and border guards must work more closely with each other. We need joint patrols and investigative teams in order to achieve practical results.

Also to support these rapid intervention tasks we need advanced technologies and innovative systems capable also of protecting and promoting human rights.

We have money available through the European Border Fund to help Member States invest in new applications and systems in this area: 1.8 billion euros for the period 2007-2013. Seven new Member States have made use of the resources of the Schengen Facility: 1 billion euros for the period 2004-2006 but the use of this money is still ongoing. Bulgaria and Romania have, in the period 2007-2009, funds from the Transition Facility, an important part of which has to be spent on border management. The effort of solidarity between Member States that the EU is showing in this area in very concrete terms is impressive and needs to be recognized. This is also a major challenge for the industry. I know you are fully aware of that.

Terrorism and organized crime have no more frontiers.

We want to fight international terrorism and cross-border crime more effectively, create strong partnerships with third countries (namely US and Russia), and make progress on integration and intercultural dialogue in order to counter the phenomenon of radicalization.

Our law enforcement and security agencies must share their information with each other. For them to do so, we are working on implementing the 'principle of availability' as set out in The Hague Programme. And now we are working - together with the German EU Presidency - to have the provisions of the Prüm Treaty transferred into the EU legal framework.

Both European security and its economy depend on the secure transmission of information. Together, the state, the private sector and individual citizens are responsible for the security of information technology. Once again, technology is at the heart of all this process.

The private sector sees its interests strongly threatened by the same globalisation process which is pushing its economic growth. Private investment in innovative technologies is needed, in cooperation and in accordance with the public side.

Through the use of technology we will be able to avoid having to take unpopular measures such as those taken in airports following previous terrorist threats. If we invest now we will dispose of new technologies and applications in order to detect liquid explosives in an easier and friendlier way.

The same applies with regard to data protection issues: we want both, more security and more data protection for the ordinary citizen. Through the use of technology law enforcement authorities will exchange important information and at the same time strengthen the protection of individual rights. This is our challenge and our ultimate aim.

Internal and external security are concepts which today are very interrelated and share many common interests.

The United States are showing that traditional frontiers between "hard technologiesâ€, mainly used for external security, and "soft technologies†used for internal security are disappearing.

In Europe we have to close the gap and develop an effective "win-win†partnership between public and private. Where governments support the efforts made by industry. And the economy, with its technological skills, supports the national and international role of governments in the fight against terror.

We need better protection for critical infrastructures in Europe.

The majority of critical infrastructures are owned by private undertakings. We know that we cannot succeed without working in close partnership with the owners of these infrastructures.

I am convinced that our partnership in this area will work because we share a common interest - we all want these infrastructures to be as safe and resilient as we can make them.

We need to analyze the threats and costs and then decide which infrastructures should have priority. In case of disaster, it is imperative to provide rapid, unbureaucratic and effective assistance.

In the domain of protection of critical infrastructure public and private interests are increasingly converging. But very often the security dialogue is limited to bilateral discussions due to the sensitivity of sharing information. The consequence has been, until recently, a market fragmentation and a risk of uncoordinated approaches in times of crisis. We know the consequences this could have, for instance in the case of power breakdown, in a growing and interdependent Europe.

We are today looking for innovative and resilient systems, capable of restoring normality rapidly in emergency situations and to guarantee assistance to people affected and victims.

We are looking for a swift adoption of our Directive Proposal concerning the protection of European Critical Infrastructures and we have new finances available in the "Security and safeguarding liberties" Programme to sustain our policy objectives.

Ensuring an effective crisis management is also an area where innovation could bring major advantages.

Prevention and management of crises, be they local, national or international, is a key task of the public sector.

Improvements will be possible through increased dialogue and cooperation between first responders, using common and interoperable procedures and tools. These improvements will also be guaranteed by innovating technologies and sharing approaches on policy responses. A stronger cooperation of the public sector with the private sector and NGOs is needed to develop high-performing and mission-adequate capabilities, defining from the beginning operational needs and developing open and upgradeable systems.

As I mentioned before, considering possible fundamental rights implications of new technologies is also part of what we need to do in partnership with each other.

Technology can help us in defending fundamental rights - to start with our right to live in a secure environment. But I would also think of what is sometimes referred to as privacy enhancing technologies, such as systems which allow only the identification of data between specified sets, without revealing more than that.

Technology innovations are providing solutions for the evolution of security needs.

Innovation will help to build a more secure Europe in all domains. It will provide improved tools for those who are on the frontline to ensure us a better life.

We should go beyond the traditional concept of "security added-on†to existing equipment, as this is not providing the best results. It is more expensive and not assuring interoperability at European level.

We should go to the new security and safety concept of "security by designâ€, with security innovations "built in†to systems since their conception. This is a key innovating concept in the new security approach we want to develop.

Security will then be an integral part of the system and could be considered as a service for citizens and for the economy as well as respect and promotion of fundamental rights.

Yes we want technology to increase our safety, and yes, we know that we need technology to keep us safe.

We need to listen to the technical experts to tell us what is technically feasible. Then we need to listen to experts on fundamental rights to see whether there are consequences of using these technologies that would put these rights in danger. It is only when we have considered all sides of the equation that we can find a balanced response.

We should link technology & solution development with legal, social and economic issues. This is why we need a holistic approach. This is why we need public - private cooperation.

Research is a pre-competitive activity. It can effectively help gather all security stakeholders and develop the trust needed for dialogue and cooperation in such sensitive sectors.

The Preparatory Action on Security Research has shown that this cooperation is possible also in the sensitive security field.

In DG JLS several task forces are already working, with contribution from public and private stakeholders, on fraud in non-cash payments, explosives, detection technologies, critical infrastructures.

We now have to link all these activities and provide a global vision and common political strategy.

We now have a larger budget for research, policy and applications at European level. Research should not be done "per se†but should be linked to needs and effectively deployed to the benefit of citizens and of the economy.

Security is no longer a "monopoly†of public administrations, but a common good, the responsibility for which and implementation should be shared by public and private bodies.

Security being a common good - everybody has to contribute to it: from the single citizen to large companies and state administrations. We should enlarge the view from local to national to European issues. We have to forge our security in a collective and holistic European approach, respecting our needs and our rights.

"Succeeding togetherâ€, the motto of this German Presidency, makes quite clear that nobody can achieve results alone. It also implies that we can and must work together, since we share a common goal.

The Council and the European Parliament have not only adopted many legislative measures - they have also approved significant increases in the funds available to us at the European level to support our common security policies. It means that over the next few years, we will have significant responsibility in ensuring that these funds are spent in the most effective and cost-efficient manner.

For me at the Commission, succeeding together in this area also means that I have an opportunity to work even more closely with Günter Verheugen and other colleagues involved.

As VP Verheugen has previously said, we have to follow this path together.

To give but one example, the package on critical infrastructure which was adopted by the Commission just last December could clearly not work in isolation - without exaggeration at least a dozen other policy areas needed to be considered in order to make any real progress which is clearly needed.

Succeeding together - it also means that we need to look at finding new partners who share our goals and ideals, and who are willing to make an investment together with us.

We have committed ourselves to build upon existing relations and initiatives to create a structure - the European Security Research and Innovation Forum.

We know that there is an increasing effort in coordination on security issues with public-private cooperation in an increasing number of Member States.

The European Commission is also innovating and we have now agreed to increase the coordination between the different DGs, the Member States and with the other private and public stakeholders in the security domain with the creation of the Forum.

The economic sector will have to support the dialogue, the development, the coordination of collective security measures, proposing adequate technologies for a coherent approach to manage risks and threats.

Developing a European domestic security will help develop an identity for the European Union, in support to the constitutional process which has been re-started under the German Presidency.

To conclude, Europe has had many successes in the past 50 years. We must ensure that it continues to face the challenges ahead. Security is a new challenge for Europe. And a challenge where we can only succeed if we work together, especially with private partners. Europe, and the European Commission, are well placed to lead the way here. In recent years we have become a strong producer of innovative technologies to provide security.

I welcome the European Security Research and Innovation Forum. By bringing together the supply and demand sides of security research and innovation, the Forum should ensure the relevance of research results and their use in policy-making.

We must face up to the new challenge of security. If we respond effectively, and in partnership with the private sector, then I believe that we in Europe can lead the way in being a true security producer and provide security to our citizens.