In a report published on Tuesday 19 June, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) says that while governance of EU action to counter chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats from outside the EU has improved, work still needs to be done on targeting cooperation.
In its report, ECA focuses on the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative (which has a budget of €130 million for the years 2014-2020), examining the follow-up given to a special report of 2014 that dealt with the set-up of this initiative.
"EU action in partner countries to counter chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats from outside the EU has improved capacities and cooperation at national and regional level, but activities still need to be prioritised according to the level of risk", the ECA report states.
The author of the report, Bettina Jakobsen, criticises the EU for not defining "an adequate risk management approach" as part of the initiative. "Much effort has been put into increasing the number of partner countries, rather than concentrating efforts and funding on the countries most relevant to EU security", she adds, according to an ECA press release. The report also says that there is still insufficient interaction between partner countries, as they wish to address national needs first.
ECA thus recommends that the European Commission and European External Action Service (EEAS) prioritise activities on the basis of a systemic risk assessment, strengthen the initiative's regional dimension, and further strengthen the EU delegations' role in the initiative. ECA adds that the Commission and EEAS should identify potential synergies and other available funding sources, and increase accountability and visibility of activities and results through improved monitoring and evaluation.
The report can be consulted at: https://bit.ly/2I3BGqR. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)