The Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence of the European Union: The case of Morocco

Abstract

The CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence of the European Union are a European Commission initiative created to reinforce national and, therefore, regional, capacities regarding nuclear, chemical and biological security outside the European Union. They are made of a network of political and technical experts that mobilize resources in order to achieve a coherent CBRN policy through technical cooperation projects that have been tailored depending on the needs of each partner State. This paper focuses on the origin, legal basis and structure of the CoE taking the Centre of Excellence located in Rabat, Morocco, as a very illustrative example of the CoE functioning and potential. The case of Morocco is especially interesting as it hosts the Secretariat for the African Atlantic Façade, one of the eight regions where CoE can be found.

Keyword: Centre of Excellence (CoE), CBRN risks, technical cooperation, Morocco, European Union.