Brussels, 06/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - How to make the global supply chain more secure in the face of the threat of terrorism? That was the question United States Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano came to Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday to ask in a meeting with Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas and a number of European officials.
Transporting goods by cargo plane, first and foremost, but also by train or by boat when international trade is increasingly inter-connecting the world: the opportunity for terrorists to traffic explosives or other dangerous chemicals is a matter of major concern for the United States. Napolitano invited the European Union to join a far-reaching programme in 2011 on cargo plane security and, more generally, the security of critical transport infrastructure.
In 2010, the United States, in partnership with the International Civil Aviation Organisation, undertook a programme that brought together 190 countries. Now the US intends to bring together also a group of countries, the World Customs Organisation, the private sector and other international organisations to address the weaknesses in the supply chain. The European Union, which brought forward proposals on the security of cargo aircraft, should also be part, Napolitano said.
The stated objective is to enhance cooperation and information exchange between countries, put in place consolidated product traceability systems, which will allow it to be known where exactly the goods being transported came from and where precisely they are going, and to identify as well as possible the products that could be used to make bombs. Napolitano wants to put in place “national standards” and to develop technologies capable of detecting dangerous substances, but without creating “useless burdens” for companies and individuals, she said on Thursday. Efforts in this direction will result in a series of recommendations, she said. They will also identify the most sensitive and the most critical transport infrastructure from the security point of view, though Napolitano ruled out any “blacklist” of airports.
In 2010, an initial project involving some 60 countries was launched. This project required participants to ensure that chemicals entering their territory were used for legal purposes.
Napolitano now wants to roll out this programme, focusing on the security of the supply chain and its ability to cope with incidents so that the transport of essential goods is not disrupted. (Cor./transl.rt)