[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/mt\/article\/modal\/12922\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EEU enlists researchers\u2019 support to tackle smuggling and security threats at sea\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA container ship sailing at night through the Baltic Sea, travelling along the Polish coast, pulls alongside a fishing boat. This behaviour immediately triggers the Polish authorities and raises questions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou need to ask why are two vessels meeting in the middle of the sea in the middle of the night? Are they involved in smuggling or illegal migration? Are they buying fish from the fishing vessel?\u201d said Isto Mattila, an expert in maritime security and information sharing at Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Finland.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs this behaviour could be indicative of several illegal activities, when the ship next pulls into port, it needs to be investigated. But that might not be in Poland. It could be in Helsinki, Finland, for instance, or any of the nine countries bordering the Baltic Sea.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the Finnish authorities to identify the ship as suspicious, they need to be alerted by the Polish maritime authorities who spotted the meetup. But this is not as simple as it sounds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese coast guards, environmental entities, police, have all created maritime surveillance systems operated and developed by different industrial partners in Europe,\u201d said Mattila.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese different IT systems use different database languages and often cannot communicate with each other.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis hypothetical scenario from\u0026nbsp;Mattila \u2013\u0026nbsp;who had been\u0026nbsp;a navy captain with the Finnish border guard for nine years before going into research \u2013 illustrates the very real complexity of monitoring Europe\u2019s seas.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESharing security\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith this dilemma in mind, EU-funded researchers have been working to optimise a common platform that would make sharing information among different maritime authorities much easier.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn 1 July 2024, the EU\u2019s Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) finally became operational. This was in part thanks to an EU-backed research initiative called EU CISE 2020, which was coordinated by Matilla.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EThe most important thing is to start making the connections that allow for cooperation between different agencies.\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003ESouzanna Sofou, CONNECTOR\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThanks to CISE, all EU countries can now cooperate better in tackling challenges such as people smuggling, illegal fishing, pollution and potential security threats.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll but five European countries \u2013 Czechia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia \u2013 have a sea border, and 80% of the EU\u2019s foreign trade is carried out by sea. Hundreds of different European authorities involved in maritime surveillance stand to benefit from this platform.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EA common language\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe CISE system adds a vital translation and information exchange layer that sits above and between all the different surveillance systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThrough this adapter, all the data that the primary system produces \u2013 whether French or Finnish or Swedish \u2013 will be translated into a common language,\u201d explained Mattila.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe network will also be able to convert this common language into the data language of all the different systems, allowing them to communicate and exchange information with each other.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe four-year EU CISE 2020 project, which ended in 2018, was a crucial milestone in the development of CISE. It tested the system by connecting it to maritime authorities in 11 EU countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis enhanced data sharing will allow EU countries to quickly communicate with each other about potential threats and emergency situations, and work together to ensure that maritime trade runs smoothly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Mattila, the system could also improve safety at sea for individuals.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you are in a sailing boat and get into difficulties, for example, you might be rescued much faster.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ECustoms cooperation\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe next step towards well-coordinated monitoring of Europe\u2019s sea borders and trade is integrating maritime surveillance seamlessly with border control and customs agencies.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWork is already taking place to include them in the maritime information exchange platform.\u0026nbsp;The plan is to do this through the development of a Customs Extended Common Information Sharing Environment (CE-CISE).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese initiatives relate to all operations that serve to control border crossings,\u201d explained Dr\u0026nbsp;Souzanna Sofou, the Greek coordinator of the CONNECTOR project from Satways, a company that specialises in security and public safety applications for police and coast guard.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe ultimate goal is ensuring effective management of EU external borders,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EOpen and secure\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe European Commission\u2019s objective in funding the research and development of innovative maritime systems is to have open but well-controlled and secure borders.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe point is for European citizens to be able to exercise their right of free movement, but also to safeguard the borders,\u201d said Sofou. She is coordinating a two-year EU-funded research effort called\u0026nbsp;CONNECTOR, which is working to establish the CE-CISE.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EThe point is for European citizens to be able to exercise their right of free movement, but also to safeguard the borders.\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003ESouzanna Sofou, CONNECTOR\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInvolving 17 partners from the EU, Switzerland and Moldova, including customs, border and coast guard authorities, the research team is analysing the requirements of customs and border authorities and developing the technical environment for them to be added to the platform.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAllowing customs agencies in different countries to rapidly exchange intelligence information in this way will enable them to work together and deal with illegal activities such as cross-border trafficking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ECross-border trials\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo better understand the needs of the customs and other border agencies, the various participants have come together to discuss the common problems they face, the things that can be improved, and the technologies that are still missing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe CONNECTOR team will be running three trials in 2025 \u2013 national, cross-border and transnational \u2013 bringing together customs, border and maritime authorities. During the trials, the end users will use the new technologies in predefined scenarios.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new capabilities for end users that will be tested include the exchange of intelligence information via CE-CISE, a common operational picture, and shared, more accurate, risk assessment for integrated border management authorities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe most important thing is to start making the connections that allow for cooperation between different agencies,\u201d said Sofou.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo explore how different scenarios, such as smuggling, might play out, the researchers will use simulated data based on experience from previous customs operations. These simulations will be used to help train border and customs agents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur beautiful Union is a group of countries with different rules and, as we want to be together under the same umbrella, we have to understand one another and speak the same language. Even if we have to use computers to do so,\u201d said Sofou.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe need alignment of our responsibilities and our expectations, and most of all, we need cooperation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Framework and Horizon Programmes. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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