Euralarm White Paper “Making Europe’s Smart Cities Safe, Secure and Resilient”

Following the launch of the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre (DRMKC) by the European Commission, Euralarm has presented a White Paper that is fully in line with the start of the Knowledge Centre.

In the White Paper “Making Europe’s Smart Cities Safe, Secure and Resilient” Euralarm proposes several directions to increase the EU-wide level of security and safety for urban spaces.

The association urges the European Commission, member states, national and local authorities, as well as the EU private sector to join forces in expanding the ‘European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities [1]’. In Euralarm’s vision the enhanced EIP should become a holistic forum for dialogue between the European Commission, member states, national and local authorities, the private sector and other stakeholders based on all essential key performance indicators identified by ISO, IEC and ITU. Such an enhanced EIP can best support the development of a common European framework for smartness, safety and security of urban spaces, facilitate an exchange of best practices and create improved funding opportunities especially for financially strained cities.

The association also calls for recognizing the concept of safety, security and resilience as a fundamental pillar of Smart Cities to henceforth be reflected in all future EU policies, research and funding for urban spaces.

Another area of focus is the co-operation between the European Commission, member states, national and local authorities, the private sector and other stakeholders in the future development and acceptance of adequate standards and pan-European certification for the harmonized implementation of solutions and services for smart, safe, secure and resilient cities. Bolstering the competitiveness of the European security industry is a critical element of protecting the EU’s cities, according to the White Paper.

For each of these topics the position and vision of Euralarm are presented in the White Paper. The White Paper can also be downloaded from the website www.euralarm.org.