EU: The European Commission wants to invest €65 million in security research over the next two years, with a view to creating a new "security culture" in Europe, writes Denis Staunton in Brussels.
The Commission said EU funds would not be used for the production of offensive weapons but for such projects as improving border security and "non-lethal" responses to terrorism.
The Research Commissioner, Mr Philippe Busquin, said Europe was paying a very high price for the "artificial, and uniquely European", separation between civil and military research.
"New and more sophisticated security threats, combined with an increasing aspiration from citizens for security, require us to adopt a more structured and European approach to security research," he said.
"We should be able to foster co-operation between the traditionally distinct sectors of civil and security research by focusing on how to best ensure the security of citizens in an enlarging European Union and a globalising world."
Although the Commission stressed that the security research programme was distinct from a proposal in the EU's draft constitution for a European armaments agency, the Enterprise Commissioner, Mr Erkki Liikanen, made it clear that Europe's defence industry would play a central role.
"It is crucial for both civil and defence sectors of the economy that we create an environment in which European defence-related companies can give better value for money by increasing their competitiveness," he said.
"More focus on better and more efficient defence research is crucial.
"This would also benefit the civilian sector. In Europe we invest less than the United States, and this gap is accentuated by the fragmentation and compartmentalisation of European defence research.
"I believe that today's initiative is a crucial step towards addressing this issue," Mr Liikannen said.
Among the projects identified by the Commission for the programme is interoperability of systems and standards for information and communication; and crisis management (including evacuation and search-and-rescue operations);
Also identified are the protection of vital public and private infrastructure; protection against incidents with biochemical and other substances; concepts and technologies for situation awareness, applied for border surveillance; monitoring of infrastructures and public space; and non-lethal means against terrorist actions.
The Commission made it clear yesterday that the €65 million budget will cover only the preparatory phase of what it hopes will develop into a more ambitious security research programme.
"It is expected that considerably more money will be needed to seriously address Europe's security research needs in the future," it said in a statement.