Remarks by Commissioner Brunner at the press conference on the European Union Critical Communication System

Thank you, Henna. Today, we deliver on another proposal that makes our Union stronger. Step by step, we are delivering on our internal security strategy, ProtectEU.

Today, we deliver another key proposal: the EU Critical Communication System. It connects those who protect us.

Wherever there is a crisis, first responders need to have one basic thing: a line of communication. There are plenty of examples over the last years, where this was not possible. Take the High Venn fires from this summer: it was in the border region between Belgium and Germany, and the moment a first responder had to cross the border, their radio stopped working. That is why today's proposal matters: we are building a common European critical communications system. It will be seamless, secure and sovereign.

What do I mean by SEAMLESS? Today's proposal does two things:

First, it lets first responders share data, video and messages in real time, through a single device. As in the High Venn this summer, we see wildfires spread across our continent: in Spain, in France, in Greece, in Germany. We already have a system so that firefighters from different countries work together to stop the disaster. But they still have to look for ad-hoc solutions just to share their location. With the EUCCS, they share voice, video and position. On one device.

Second, the systems are interconnected. In February last year, there was a shooting in the Netherlands, 200 meters from the Belgian border. An active police chase across the border started, where every minute counted. Yet the operational centre in Maastricht could not directly alert its colleagues in Liège, or the Belgian officers on the street. Cross-border police work is also where the new Europol mandate makes a difference, by supporting Member States. And the EUCCS gives the officers on the ground the communications to match. One device. One network. Every agency, every Member State, connected.