Policemen and other professional groups gathered in the CESI Security Trade Council stressed how the recent attacks in Paris and Denmark have changed their perception of their professional risk by feeling even more exposed to an unknown danger, e.g. in form of individual terrorists.

The committee’s president Gerrit van der Kamp also pointed out the security and rescue forces’ support on the site of the Germanwings plane crash and thanks them for their work, before observing a minute’s silence for the many victims of the shootings and the crash.

The participants remember that already back then  – after the CESI Symposium in Lyon on the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice – the Trade Council has given recommendations on how to integrate the security forces’ experciences  in the EU’s policy making in this field.

According to Trade Council’s vice president Stéphanie La Rosa, recent events only show how important it is to stick to these recommendations and to advocate them even further. In any case, when it comes to France, concrete measures have already been taken  following the events.

The committee also discussed the underlying topic of radicalisation and prevention of terrorism, which are now in the focus of the European Council’s and the European Parliament’s works, both of which have shown their intentions to step up their efforts. Furthermore, CESI director Bert van Caelenberg presented the initiatives of the Council and the European Commissions, particularly in the field of the former Stockholm Programme.

In view of a CESI@noon round table debate on this topic on 5 May 2015, where CESI gathers police’ and teachers’ as well as EU representatives, the participants agreed to create a catalogue of key claims which are to be submitted to the European Commission and the European Parliament on the occasion of the event. Secretary General Klaus Heeger stressed in this respect how important it is to educated young people and to teach them common values and charged himself with elaborating such catalogue of claims.

Vice-President Hermann Benker reported on the use of so called body cams in Germany, which are used by police forces in special situations. Those allow to review critical situations and to even attenuate aggressive behaviour on both sides. Additionally they can be used in order to assess recordings through citizen’s devices, which are more and more often used to denounce the actions of the police. Benker proposed that the member states fulfil the legal and technical prerequisites that allow – if needed – the use of those cameras by the police.