The Steering Committee for the “Enhancing protection of public spaces and critical infrastructures in the Western Balkans” project took place on October 17, 2024, in Belgrade, in the presence of representatives from the French, Croatian, Italian and Greek authorities, as well as from the beneficiary countries. The DG NEAR program manager, a representative of DG HOME and CIVIPOL's director of operations were also present.
After a few introductory remarks, the project manager thanked the Serbian authorities for hosting the event and invited the various partners to give their views on the project. They underlined the importance of regional cooperation in this field. Indeed, the beneficiary countries explained that strengthening the resilience of critical infrastructures and protecting public spaces were issues that concerned all states and their citizens. The aim is to bring the security systems of the beneficiary countries into line with European standards, so that everyone is better protected.
The DG NEAR representative also emphasized the central place currently occupied by the issue of enlargement on the directorate's political agenda. Moreover, the DG HOME representative gave a presentation on the European regulatory and legislative framework for critical infrastructure protection in the Member States.
Finally, the project manager presented the technical progress made since the launch phase, detailing the various activities organized and led by the technical experts for the participants. Several of these were held in parallel with the Steering Committee meeting, notably on the fight against radicalization and the assessment of the terrorist threat level.
