Vice-President Verheugen,
Vice-President Frattini,
Professor Buzek,
Mr. Fagerlund,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Treaty establishing the European Economic Community was signed fifty years ago yesterday. The preamble to the Treaty states that the signatories are: “Resolved by […] pooling their resources to preserve and strengthen peace and liberty.” The desire for peace and security was certainly one of the main motives for European unity.
Europe has brought us security and freedom. Security and freedom go hand-in-hand. The great scholar Wilhelm von Humboldt once said: “Without security man is neither able to develop his strengths nor to enjoy the fruits thereof; for there is no freedom without security.” It is essential to preserve this freedom.
This is why we are meeting here in Berlin over the next few days. “Security – Research – Dialogue” is the motto of this conference. It is the second conference of its kind and I was pleased to take over the baton from the Austrian Presidency, which organized the first of these conferences in 2006.
I.
We need solutions for urgent geopolitical challenges, environmental problems, even safer energy supplies and infrastructure. But we must also deal with the question of how we are to protect freedom and democracy against threats from terrorism and international organized crime.
Our modern industrial society is swathed in dense infrastructure networks which enable and provide mobility, energy and free flows of information. We depend on the smooth functioning of all these networks. In a densely networked world, natural disasters, major technological incidents and attacks can lead to huge consequential damage and possibly even destabilize our societies.
We therefore need comprehensive security research which focuses on the interests of the people. It is a matter of protecting our citizens from threats.
A number of member states have already introduced security research programmes or are in the process of preparing such programmes.2 Germany presented its first research programme on civil security in January this year. Combined with a European coordination instrument, this will enable seamless security research work.
II.
Threats do not stop at national borders. We therefore need overarching security solutions.
With the introduction of the Seventh Research Framework Programme, we have put security research on the level of the European Union. We are thus enabling research and innovation to provide civil security policy with new instruments to protect the democratic states of Europe and their citizens against threats.
In view of the peculiarities of security research, what Europe needs is a long-term strategic platform which will shape the transfer of knowledge from research to application as effectively as possible. For this purpose, we need a “European Security Research and Innovation Forum” ‑ ESRIF. I fully agree with you on this point, Commissioner Verheugen.
The central objective of the security forum is to develop strategic innovation partnerships with users and suppliers – that is to say, alliances between research, science, industry, operators of security-relevant infrastructures and authorities which are responsible for security in the member states and the EU.
These innovations must safeguard our freedom. There can be no greater good than freedom. We must mobilize the best ideas from the fields of science and research in order to perform this complex task. The natural and engineering sciences, the humanities and the social sciences must all work to together to seek new solutions for these complex challenges. Security depends on our lead in research and science and on taking advantage of this lead in the fields of organization and technology.
But: New security solutions may also be at variance with private freedom and civil rights. By the same token, threats can lead to restrictions for customers and cost disadvantages for firms. This is demonstrated by the restrictions on air traffic, for example. These are precisely the points that we must discuss. The sooner, the better. And it is precisely here that we must find solutions.
III.
Security is an important issue of the future – especially with regard to innovations. If we want to make Europe the world’s strongest economic area, we must enhance its innovative strength. Also ‑ and precisely ‑ in the area of security research.
Security is no longer a matter for the police, fire brigade or rescue services alone. In Germany, eighty percent of all security-relevant infrastructures are owned by private industry. The market for security solutions is growing by seven to eight percent per year and in Germany alone has already reached a volume of 10 billion euro. It is creating jobs; it is creating export opportunities. We must take advantage of these opportunities – among other things in order to safeguard freedom in Europe to the best possible extent.
Innovative security technologies already exist in some sectors. Small and young companies in particular are developing top-class products. But we are still a long way from developing and exploiting these many innovative technologies to such an extent that they provide optimum protection for our freedom.
IV.
After a process of fifty years of European unity, we know that peace, prosperity, justice and freedom can be secured in the long term.
Even though the security that we have achieved during this period is coming increasingly under threat.
Fifty years of European unity have taught us that we can shape the future. We must trust in our ability to provide the best possible organizational and technological protection for our citizens in the European Union. And we must continue our course of shaping Europe’s sustainable, values-oriented development, calmly, rationally and resolutely.
Successful security research along these lines demands a dialogue which is open, committed and geared towards finding solutions. I wish you interesting discussions and meetings within the framework of this conference – for the benefit of the citizens of Europe and of the whole world.
