"Coordinating National Research Programmes on Security during Major Events in Europe" (EU-SEC, 2004-2008), funded by the European Commission - DG Research and Technological Development, within the framework of the ERA-NET Programme, supported EU efforts concerning security during major events.

The project intended to make full use of the capabilities and experience of the project partners and avoid overlapping with ongoing activities. It aimed at supporting and coordinating national research activities related to security during major events and facilitating the implementation of the provisions contained in relevant EU tools, including principles set out in handbooks on the topic.

The main outputs of the EU-SEC project were:

Elaboration of a definition of major events, shared by all the members of its consortium;
Identification of a number of common research topics deemed most suitable for further research;
Study on public-private partnerships in the field of research on security during major events;
Manual on police ethics and major events; and,
Elaboration of a common methodology for the coordination of national research programmes at regional level, via the EU-SEC Manual.

EU-SEC created a strong network of end-users ready to cooperate beyond the project activities and able to ensure the transfer and dissemination of EU- SEC results to the respective national working environments. Through the creation of a coordination platform of end-users and its tangible outputs, EU-SEC laid the foundations for the creation of the European House of Major Events Security, envisaged by the follow up project, EU-SEC II, funded by the European Commission - DG Enterprise and Industry.

Link to the EU-Sec Manual:

The Consortium of EU-SEC consisted of:

United Nations Inter-regional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)

Europol

Austria – Bundesministerium für Inneres-Ministry of the Interior

Finland – Ministry of the Interior Police College of Finland

France – Direction Générale de la Police Nationale

Germany – Deutsche Hochschule der Polizei

Ireland – An Garda Siochana

Italy – Ministero dell’Interno

Portugal – Cabinet of the Ministry of the Interior

Spain – Ministerio del Interior

The Netherlands – Ministry of Security and Justice

United Kingdom – Metropolitan Police Service

EU-SEC II “Coordinating National Research Programmes and Policies on Security at Major events in Europe” (2008-2011)

EU SEC II, funded by the European Commission – DG Enterprise and Industry, coordinated by the United Nations Inter-regional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and involving Europol and 22 European Member States was a joint cooperation effort to develop research coordination initiated by the first EU-SEC. Its ultimate goal was creation of the “European House of Major Events Security” (known as ‘the House”) – a common coordination tool to provide technical assistance to major event security planners in furtherance of the EU Internal Security Strategy and the Stockholm Programme towards a common European security planning and policing approach. The crux of EU-SEC II’s work was to investigate which services the House could offer, focusing in particular on public-private partnerships (PPPs), common research standards and media management. The final output was a pilot research strategic roadmap to direct future research priorities.

To validate these ideas, UNICRI tested the services to be offered by the House during six actual major events. These were: the Climate Change Conference 2009 held in Copenhagen, Denmark; the Pope’s 2010 visit to Cyprus; the 2011 Champions League Final held in Madrid, Spain; the EU Presidencies of Hungary in 2011 and Cyprus in 2012; and, the 2011 G20 meeting held in France. Finally, a manual was produced to guide ownership and operation of the House. It lays the foundations for the further development of international coordination services aimed at improving and strengthening European level cooperation in major event security research and planning. It includes a compendium of all the necessary new steps, including a detailed description of Coordination Tools and Methodologies (CTMs) to be made available to European security planners.

These efforts produced the following benefits:

Stronger cooperation and coordination among the relevant security stakeholders, including the private sector, to develop integrated and comprehensive operational security plans;
Enhancement of channels of communication and regional cooperation among EU law enforcement agencies in sharing lessons learned and best practices for security during Major events;
Implementation of specific training curricula to disseminate common policing methods and a culture of increased attention to the development of relationships with the general public and the media.

Link to the EU-Sec II Manual:

The Consortium of EU-SEC II consisted of:

United Nations Inter-regional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)

European Police Office - Europol

Austria – Bundesministerium für Inneres-Ministry of the Interior

Bulgaria – Academy of the Ministry of the Interior

Cyprus – Cyprus Police

Denmark – The Danish National Police

Estonia – Ministry of the Interior

Finland – Ministry of the Interior Police Department

France – Direction Générale de la Police Nationale (D.G.P.N.)

Germany – Deutsche Hochschule der Polizei

Greece – Center for Security Studies (KEMEA)

Hungary – Orszagos Rendor Fokapitanysag

Ireland – An Garda Siochana

Italy – Ministero dell’Interno

Latvia – Police Academy of Latvia

Malta – Malta Police Force

The Netherlands – Ministry of Security and Justice

Portugal – Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna

Romania – Ministry of Administration and Interior-Inspectorate General of Romanian Police

The Slovak Republic – Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic

Slovenia – Policijska uprava Maribor

Spain – Cuerpo Nacional de Policía on behalf of the Ministerio del Interior (MIR-CNP)

Sweden – Swedish National Police Board

United Kingdom – Metropolitan Police Service