EU Commission announces plan to establish an R&D center for internal security
The European Union Commission has announced it is considering creating a European innovation hub for internal security, according to the strategy for EU security published on July 24, 2020.
The hub will be based at Europol aiming to develop technologies with both a security and an economic benefit. “The project is still in its inception phase”, said an EU official according to Science Business. Information about staff, budget, and relation to academia and the private sector cannot be revealed now.
The European Commission has set out a new strategy for the period 2020 to 2025, focusing on priority areas where the EU can bring value to support the Member States in fostering security to all those living in Europe, according to the press release. The EU strategy focuses on Critical infrastructures, cybersecurity, terrorism, child abuse, and drugs, according to EU observer.
“From protecting our critical infrastructure to fighting cybercrime and countering hybrid threats, we can leave no stone unturned when it comes to our security”, said EU commission Vice-president Margaritis Schinas. The commission wants to increase cybersecurity efforts to respond to the increased amount of cyberattacks especially during the rollout of the critical 5G network.
The creation of a hub for internal security to enhance innovation and research comes as part of the European Union commission aiming to strengthen the Europol mandate.
In 2017, the EU spent almost €320 billion on research and development, according to Eurostat. In 2019, there were around 400 ICT projects signed for a total EU funding of approximately €2.2 billion, according to the Digital Society Index 2020.
“EU-funded security research is a key instrument to drive technology and knowledge in support of security solutions”, states the European Commission. EU leaders have already agreed to the European Defense Fund demand to get a budget of €7 billion for the next 7 years. The Digital Europe programme was allocated €6.76 billion out of the budget. Some of this amount to be spent on cybersecurity projects across member states.