Brussels, 30/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has tabled a programme to support expansion of the security market, which is already worth almost €35 billion.
Among the initiatives to boost growth and employment, the Commission proposes more effective management of a market the value of which is estimated at between €26 billion and €36.5 billion with around 180,000 employees and one which has vast potential in view of its importance in the eyes of society seeking shelter from both natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
On Monday 30 July, the Commission brought forward an action programme to boost Europe's security industry (which includes aviation security, maritime security, border security, critical infrastructure protection, counter-terror intelligence, including cyber security and communication, physical security protection; crisis management and protective clothing), a sector which is growing but which is fragmented, thus weakening its competitiveness. Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Commissioner Antonio Tajani wants to put in place a genuine internal market for security technologies which would allow European companies, already world leaders in most segments in the sector, to maintain and extend their technological advantage.
Creating such a market would require standards and certification procedures for security technologies to be harmonised. European standardisation bodies will be asked to draw up concrete and detailed standardisation roadmaps on the next generation of technologies. The Commission intends to issue two legislative proposals, to establish an EU wide harmonised certification system for airport screening (detection) equipment, and an EU wide harmonised certification system for alarm systems.
The Commission programme is also looking to make better use of synergies between (civil) security and defence research. The Commission intends to issue, in cooperation with the European Defence Agency, standardisation mandates for “hybrid standards” to the European standardisation organisations.
In order to bridge the gap between research and the market, in particular in European and international procurement, the Commission will use novel funding schemes provided for in Horizon 2020, such as Pre-commercial Procurement, to test and validate results stemming from EU security research projects.
The Commission will introduce checks on the societal impact of new security technologies at the research stage. In addition, the Commission will issue a mandate to European standardisation organisations to develop a standard for the integration of privacy issues, from design to production process phases.
A dedicated expert group set up by the Commission will meet at least once per year to monitor the implementation of proposed policy measures and bring together all relevant actors in the field of security.