Vienna, 20/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - The Security Research Conference, SRC 06, was held in Vienna, Austria, on 20 and 21 February, attended by more than 1000 representatives of EU Member States' governments, industry and research to discuss the challenges facing the European Union in research and new technology to tackle new security threats. Austrian transport and innovation minister and President of the Council of the EU, Hubert Gorbach, and EU Industry Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, opened the conference by stressing the need for greater cooperation among Member States to meet citizens' security needs. Hubert Gorbach said that several dates would stick in people's minds for ever, like September 11 2001, 11 March 2004, Boxing Day 2004 (the Indian Ocean Tsunami) and the hurricane in New Orleans (August 2005). He pointed out that such events required effective crisis management. He added that whether voluntary (terrorist attacks) or involuntary (natural disasters), such events were a threat to EU citizens - who expect more of politicians these days in terms of security - and cross-border threats required cross-border responses. He went on to outline the Austrian Presidency's expectations of SRC 06, explaining that 1) the Austrian Presidency wanted to give a clear political signal that the EU is taking the legitimate security concerns of its citizens seriously, and that research and technology are a vital foundation for an EU security policy; 2) boosting dialogue between 'users' of the results of security research (particularly governments, which are responsible for the security of their citizens); 3) contributing to debate about research priorities to be established at EU level for the EU's 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development (FP7); 4) boosting cooperation in security research to reach critical mass and synergy at EU level; and 5) building a community of interests among research, industry, governments and infrastructure operators through continuous dialogue to achieve the best allocation of resources to be assigned to projects concerned with the security of citizens. The Austrian deputy chancellor said political responses had to be found to these problems, and research and technology could help find good responses.
Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, said that faced with organised crime (human trafficking and the sale of weapons) and international terrorism, everything in one's power would have to be done to avert threats and ensure the peaceful coexistence of EU citizens. He warned that no European country could manage such a task on its own. He went on to explain that when it came to defending domestic security against external threats, the right balance had to be struck between the search for security and the freedom of individuals. Verheugen said that in terms of technology, Europe would be able to become a fortress, leading to a totally controlled society, but at the same time one should ask how to provide total security to citizens without jeopardising their individual freedom. Security research and its results must only be a supplement to political action, Commissioner Verheugen argued, and the EU should ensure that in their joint work, national governments and EU institutions provided added-value that no Member State would be capable of providing on its own. The Industry Commissioner said this meant that as a priority, Member States should boost customs cooperation and the protection of means of communication and critical infrastructure; and prioritise security research under FP7. In this connection, Verheugen pointed out that the European Commission had initially suggested EUR 250 million in funding for security research, but it was not 100% clear what the final budget for security research would be, given the cuts in the budget for the FP7 in the negotiations over the EU's budget. The Commissioner added that while there was agreement that security research was a priority, actions did not always follow words. Verheugen said that people wanting to make cuts in the EU budget were mistaken because faced with growing demand from citizens for security, spending at national level was inevitable and this would cost governments wanting to go it alone even more. For this reason, he said, greater cooperation was required to avoid duplication of effort. Pointless overlaps and duplication of effort by national and EU security action, and even by NATO, were also raised by the President of the European Parliament's sub-committee on defence and security, Karl von Wogau.
Mr Verheugen warned: “the fragmentation in classic defence (…) should not occur in security research”, given the importance of this sector for a modern Union industrial policy.
“The main obligation for any government is to offer the highest possible level of security to its citizens”, said the EU's anti-terrorist coordinator Gijs de Vries, calling on Member States to “invest in a coordinated manner in the means to strengthen cross-border cooperation and the prevention of terrorist acts”. “The threat of terrorism is not stable and develops rapidly because terrorists learn quickly, adapt to states' strategies and use ICTs. We must therefore adapt science and research to the service of citizens' security”, insisted Mr de Vries, stressing the need to attack “at the roots of evil”, preventing terrorists from having access to dangerous materials and strengthening the security surrounding critical infrastructures and the coordination of responses to terrorist threat. “From prevention to management, research has a role to play. ICTs and biometrics can help us”, the EU anti-terrorist coordinator continued, before stressing the importance of greater collaboration between all the main actors participating in security research - administrations, police, the private sector, university research centres. He also stressed the need for research into security matters to have adequate funding. “Major investment is essential to ensure the security of tomorrow”, he said, before bemoaning the inadequacy of the budget of 45 million over 3 years (2004-2006) granted to preparatory action for security research (the action preceding the programme laid down for security research in the 7th FPRD) which meant that the European Commission could only accept a limited number of the projects from among those selected.