EU vows to help cities prevent attacks
Print Edition
The European Commission pledged 118.5 million euros (US$139.2 million) yesterday to help Europe’s cities guard against attacks and outlined how EU countries could do more to curb the sale of bomb-making materials.
After a dozen cases in Europe of drivers using vehicles to plough into pedestrians, like the August attack in Barcelona, authorities have struggled to protect public spaces without disrupting cities’ open character or busting tight budgets.
Security Commissioner Julian King said 18.5 million euros of European Union funding would be made available this year and 100 million euros in 2018 to help redesign cityscapes to mitigate the risks.
“We can’t stop all attacks, we can’t deliver zero risk, but we can make it harder and harder for terrorists,” King told a news conference. “We believe we can take action to make public spaces less vulnerable without fundamentally changing their nature.”
King wants cities to come up with “innovative solutions” to protect buildings and crowded spaces that could be copied elsewhere. These could include changes to the design of a public space, lighting or public awareness campaigns.
Some cities, such as Nice, where a man at the wheel of a truck killed 86 people in July 2016, have invested in barriers, new traffic routes and other security measures, but many more have not.
King warned that Islamic State’s losses during military campaigns may raise the threat of attacks in Europe as militants seek other ways to operate.
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