Brussels, 11/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 11 September, the European Commission held the first meeting of the European Security Research and Innovation Forum (ESRIF) geared to public-private partnership and intended among other things to improve security of infrastructures, combat organised crime and terrorism, and improve border surveillance and control. ESRIF had been officially set up at a conference on research in the field of security at the end of March in Berlin. Between 50 to 70 independent experts gathered on Tuesday at this strategy forum shared by public and private sector players, namely industry, research establishments, public and private end-users, organisations of the civil society, and European institutions and organisations. ESRIF was founded at an initiative by a group formed of six member states: Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria and the United Kingdom. Speaking at a press conference, Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said the aim was to ensure that the authorities of member states have better technologies than those readily available to criminals. “The launch of the European Security Research and Innovation Forum will lead to coherent security research programming and funding between European and national public authorities and the private sector”, Günter Verheugen, Commissioner for Industrial Policy, pointed out. ESRIF will have a limited lifespan, until the end of 2009. It will present a joint research plan on security by the end of 2009 on how the EU spends its budget of €2.135 billion for the period 2007-2013 in the context of the 7th framework programme on research. This includes a “security” chapter, in addition to the EU framework programme on “security and safeguard of freedoms”. The Commission has also given the go-ahead to new specific research projects relating to security, such as optical technologies for the identification of explosives, localisation of explosives in cities, video detection of abnormal behaviours in crowds and protection of large events against terrorists. Commissioner Frattini then pointed out that a “package of measures” was being prepared to combat terrorism. It will be presented in November. This plan of action provides for: - an explosive-related database, with an early warning system in the event of theft or disappearance of explosives; - measures on the use of the internet for diffusing information (for example: techniques for producing explosives); - a European system of Passenger Name Records (PNRs); - and implementation of the framework decision for combating terrorism, as well as an assessment of the situation in the new member states. (bc)