Current Activities of the European Union in Fighting CBRN Terrorism Worldwide

Abstract

The paper describes the development and present situation related to establishment of the regional Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Centers of Excellence (CoEs) under the European Union (EU) initiative Instrument for Stability (IfS) in various parts of the world outside Europe in order to assist the EU in fighting the international CBRN threats and to minimize the associated hazards by adopting adequate prevention, preparedness and response measures. The main aim of CoEs and relevant Regional Secretariats is to strengthen the institutional capacities of selected countries to mitigate CBRN risks, including such criminal activities as CBRN proliferation and terrorism. The CoEs are supposed to assist the EU in developing a structural, all-hazards CBRN policy at the national, regional and international levels to be able to respond the these threats, and to reduce the vulnerability of countries to CBRN events. Until recently, main attention in this field was paid to the countries of the former Soviet Union focusing on nuclear safeguard and security of nuclear material and high-activity radioactive sources. At present, however, the growing interest in developing nuclear, biotechnology and chemical capabilities in many countries in Africa, Middle East and in South East Asia requires the extension in implementing reliable and efficient tools to improve the safety and security of the CBRN material on a global scale. The presentation also includes some personal observations and impressions of one of the authors (JS) who, under the EU program, visited the CoEs in Manila (Philippines), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Amman (Jordan) and Rabat (Morocco).

In addition, some aspects related to the preparedness of the Czech Republic for a nuclear or radiological emergency including a radiological terrorist attack have also been discussed.