The European project Public Spaces begins to strengthen them against terrorist attacks

In recent decades, there have been numerous attacks, using various methods and varying degrees of sophistication, in public spaces, and the European Union (EU) is committed to protecting these spaces in the fight against terrorism and other criminal incidents. Since 2020, the European Union’s five-year strategies on security and several of the action plans approved by the European Commission, such as the 2017 and 2024 Action Plans, have prioritized the protection of public spaces within the EU’s counter-terrorism agenda, including the need to intensify cooperation with third countries, including southern neighbors and African countries.

Therefore, as a continuation of the CT Public Spaces (Counterterrorism in Public Spaces) project, implemented jointly between 2020 and 2024 by the Civil Guard and FIIAPP in Ghana, Kenya and Senegal, the Public Spaces + project has begun in 2025 with the aim of consolidating the impact already achieved in the first project.

Over the next three years, FIAP, the Civil Guard, the European High Risk Security Network (EU-HRSN) and local partners in the three African countries will work together to prevent potential terrorist attacks and mitigate their possible effects in public spaces in their territories. The project has a budget of €6 million and includes a series of activities designed to develop the individual capacities of members of law enforcement agencies and train trainers. It also focuses on the practical application of what has been learned, with the participation of local partners in real security operations, both in Spain and in the three African countries involved.

It should be noted that the project aims to achieve a significant long-term impact by placing special emphasis on local replication activities, which will empower and increase the capacities of a larger number of personnel, thus ensuring the sustainability of the protection of public spaces and infrastructure once the project has ended.

During the inception phase of the Public Spaces + project, its director and the technical specialists responsible for the countries involved, all of whom are members of the Civil Guard, and the Institutional Coordinator of FIAP, have carried out three working visits. They visited relevant institutions in Kenya, such as the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC); the CICO Coordination Centre, the Police and National Gendarmerie of Senegal, and the National Counter Terrorism NCT Fusion Centre and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana; as well as the EU Delegations and Spanish Embassies in the three countries. During these visits, local demands were confirmed, local contact points were designated, and the work schedule for the first months of the project was approved, consisting of a package of training activities in Spain. These activities will begin at the end of September, with a first group of Kenyan participants travelling to the Civil Guard’s Special Training Centre (CAE) in Logroño.