Institute for International Relations

Partnership Project
Institute of International Sociology (ISIG)
Hellenberg.org
The Central European Initiative (CEI)
Institute for International Relations (IMO)
The European Maritime Partnership (EMP)

Origin of Funding
No JLS/2007/EPCIP/003
Co-financed by the EU – European Commission, DG Freedom, Justice and Security

Dates
2007 – 2009

Project Description
Pro-Adris project promotes and supports common operational measures in the elaboration of OSP and contingency plans in the Adriatic cross-border context. It combines applied, multidisciplinary and cross-sector research to tabletop exercise. It aims at developing the ECI protection and at organizing the response to alerts on potential risk of terrorism and on consequent damages in the Adriatic basin.

The project falls within the EU program of “Critical Infrastructure Protection”. The critical infrastructures protection mechanisms have emerged as a crucial aspect of the regional security and development process of the European maritime regions.

The Adria Seaways has been discussed and conceptualized since a number of years as a critical and logistic support to the development of the European economies in their relations with southern Mediterranean countries, Black Sea Region and the Middle East.

Main project activities and results

The project main activities of the project Pro-Adris have been developed along three phases:

• Phase 1: Context Analysis and Data Protection

The research partners have carried out a Context Analyses of the Adriatic critical infrastructures system by collecting relevant data and developing a risk analyses model. The goal was to produce a risk analyses model of the Adriatic seaway aimed at pointing out critical points and weaknesses of the institutional assets in the infrastructure systems, stressing particularly their vulnerability to man made and natural hazards.

• Phase 2: Elaboration of the Context

In the second phase, the Context explored and analyzed has been further elaborated by the creation and dissemination of a questionnaire based on the key-variables, that was distributed to the members of an institutional networks of participants (Delphi method). The analysis of the results and the identification of the strategic risk profiles were used together with the establishment of a web based dynamic graphic model to interpolate research results.

• Phase 3: Simulation Conferences and Recommendations

In them last phase, simulation conference have been organized with the participation of Pro-Adrias partners and institutional participants. The conference hosted a tabletop exercise with experts, where threat scenarios in the Adriatic have been simulated within a transitional and cross-border framework action. Consequently, the research partners drafted a recommendation paper on the protection of Adriatic Seaways with the regional and EU CIP dimension (based on SWAT analysis), and was delivered and disseminated through selected institutional channels. A final Event and a media promotion and dissemination research results concluded the project.