EU launches three-year project to support strengthening of Front Line Biosafety and Biosecurity in South East and Eastern Europe

The outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic showed the high impact that biological risks, which know no borders, can have in today’s interconnected world. Countries with rather limited monitoring and response means at border points were particularly affected by the virus, struggling to ensure rapid testing and follow-up, facing a shortage of equipment, or lacking coordination between the different state organisations responsible for responding to such a threat, to name a few challenges.

The recent events linked to the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as to other bio hazards in the past, highlights the relevance of enhancing biosafety and biosecurity capabilities within and across borders to ensure the minimisation of bio risk-induced health consequences, human and economic losses.

Enhancing bio threat monitoring and response on borders

As part of its mission to advance CBRN risk mitigation and enhance security and safety worldwide, the European Union has launched a new project that will support the strengthening of front line biosafety and biosecurity measures in the South East and Eastern European region.

Established in the context of the EU CBRN CoE Initiative, the three-year project (May 2023 – April 2026) will aim to enhance bio threat monitoring and response on state borders and customs clearance zones within and across ten partner countries, namely: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine. All participating countries are part of the EU CBRN CoE Regional Secretariat for South East and Eastern Europe.

Funded by the European Union, the project will be implemented by the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU). The STCU supports the promotion of a culture of safety and security, and responsible science by advancing civilian science and technology partnerships addressing CBRN risks.

What objectives will the project support?

The project ‘Strengthening of Front Line Biosafety and Biosecurity Measures in South East and Eastern European Region’ will support the achievement of the following objectives, among others:

• To advance policy, guidelines and protocols on the biosafety and biosecurity management on state borders and customs clearance zones;
• To enhance technical capacities of the partner countries through provision of equipment for trainings, exercises and front line biosafety and biosecurity response needs;
• To conduct practical trainings and exercises (national, trans-boundary, regional) on front line biosafety and biosecurity threats management;
• To foster the establishment of national and regional front line biosafety and biosecurity experts and agencies networking;
• To share good practices of front line biosafety and biosecurity management based on relevant EU institutions’ experience.

Visit the project’s page for a complete overview of its context, scope, or major activities.

EU CBRN Risk Mitigation: Building a safer and more secure world

The European Union funds the project ‘Strengthening CBRN medical emergency preparedness and response in Southeast Asia’ within the framework of the European Union Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence EU CBRN CoE. Supported through the NDICI – Global Europe instrument, the Initiative represents the EU’s largest civilian external security programme.

Funded and implemented by the European Union, with the support of UNICRI, the EU CBRN CoE is working to build a safer and more secure world.

The EU CBRN CoE brings together 64 Partner Countries across 8 regions that cooperate at regional and international level to strengthen CBRN risk mitigation and to promote a global culture of safety and security. Since the Initiative’s inception in 2010, more than 100 EU-funded projects have been implemented to support the mitigation of and preparedness to CBRN risks.

Visit the EU CBRN Risk Mitigation page to learn more about the EU CBRN CoE and other EU flagship initiatives strengthening CBRN safety and security worldwide.