A culture of CBRN. The role of regional centres of excellence

Addressing the threat of illicit trafficking of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) material in today’s world is different from addressing the legacy of Cold War in the Former Soviet Union. The growing nuclear energy demand, biotechnology development and pandemics will without doubt be accompanied by increased non-proliferation challenges, and in particular the threat of illicit trafficking of CBRN material. Moreover, these new threats are expanding to new regions. Therefore, the objective pursued by the European Commission, together with its partners, will be to consolidate what has already been done, in terms of assistance to countries to enhance their capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to illicit trafficking of CBRN material, in Russia, the Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia while expanding in the coming years into new regions of concern: South East Asia, the Middle East and some parts of Africa.