The 2025 Plenary Meeting of the CERIS Expert Group, held on 20-21 November 2025 in Brussels, brought together 54 of its members to assess ongoing work, set strategic goals, and plan the future direction of CERIS activities. Led by the Innovation and Security Research Unit, the event confirmed CERIS’ role as a European platform for integrating security research, innovation, policy, and practical application.
The meeting opened with an overview of recent and forthcoming CERIS events, such as the Disaster Resilience Days in Athens (Greece) with more than 200 participants, and the on-site demonstration of land and sea border surveillance solutions in Turku (Finland), showcasing EU-funded prototypes.
A substantial part of the meeting was devoted to strategizing the promotion of CERIS initiatives, reflecting the necessity of reaching Member States, practitioners, industry, and the broader public. Suggestions ranged from improving dissemination efforts, creating more practice-oriented reports, to developing comprehensive papers to foster engagement and understanding.
Breakout sessions within CERIS subgroups offered a closer look at emerging needs and priorities for the 2026-2027 period across relevant thematic areas, notably Disaster Resilient Societies (DRS), Strengthening Security Research and Innovation (SSRI), Fighting Crime and Terrorism (FCT) including Critical Infrastructure Protection (INFRA), and Border Management (BM). Each subgroup identified specific themes for future CERIS events, addressing key challenges, such as crisis management ecosystems, supply chain security, AI readiness, hybrid threats, encryption, and synergies between civilian and military sectors.
For the first time, a Reality Check was conducted, as follow-up of the Implementation Dialogue with Commissioner Magnus Brunner held at the Security Research Event in June in Warsaw. The Reality Check provided a practical evaluation of the policy objectives aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of EU civil security and facilitating the market uptake. Discussions highlighted the necessity for better harmonization, smarter and flexible funding mechanisms, clearer legal framework, and more efficient pathways from research to market.
Overall, the 2025 CERIS Plenary Meeting affirmed the importance of stronger integration across various communities, strategic narratives, and a sustained focus on transforming research and innovation into operational and market-ready solutions for European civil security. The insights gathered will guide CERIS’ in its ongoing activities.
Equally important, most of the CERIS experts also participated in the EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security Annual Event on 19 November, promoting a united approach to EU civil security research and innovation. These efforts reinforce CERIS’ commitment to fostering collaboration across the European civil security landscape.