EU Preparedness Union and ProtectEU : CoESS hosts high-level event to call for more public-private partnerships and innovation uptake
Last week, CoESS had the honour of hosting a high-level event at the Permanent Representation of Northrhine Westphalia to the EU in Brussels, bringing together the European security services community, Members of the European Parliament, and the European Commission for an urgent and forward-looking dialogue: How can we strengthen Europe’s crisis preparedness and resilience in an era of cascading threats in a whole-of-society mindset and public-private partnership approach?
Under the banner of “Security Meets Technology”, the event was held on the occasion of the recently published EU Preparedness Union and ProtectEU Strategies, and featured engaging exchanges on the way forward in confronting todays complex threat environment from terrorism and sabotage to hybrid threats and natural disasters.
A key takeaway from the discussions was clear: Europes preparedness is only as strong as the partnerships behind it.
Public-private cooperation, enabled by trust, innovation, and the full mobilisation of Europes security ecosystem, will be vital to meet tomorrows challenges.
CoESS was honoured to welcome strategic insights from:
LtGen MEP Christophe Gomart, offering unique perspectives from both the defence and political arenas.
Hans Das, Deputy Director at DG ECHO, and Heike Buss, Deputy Head of Unit C.2 at DG HOME, outlining the European Commissions next steps in Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and the EU Preparedness Union Strategy.
What became clear:
Private security – 2 million officers strong – is already a 24/7 enabler of European security, equipped with growing innovation capacity.
Regulatory barriers are blocking critical technology uptake, particularly in emerging areas such as drones and counter-UAS systems.
Legal and operational silos continue to prevent full collaboration between private security, law enforcement, and emergency services.
To meet todays threats, it is imperative to finally remove these persistent obstacles. Participants agreed that Europe must build a true Security Continuum and Preparedness Union – rooted in trust, innovation, and the capabilities of our workforce.
On the occasion of the event, CoESS also launched its new White Paper "Shaping the Future of CIP and Resilience through Public-Private Partnerships", available now at www.coess.eu.