Two days after the bombings at the Boston Marathon, but months ahead in the planning and several thousand miles distant, the European Union (EU) staged its largest ever anti-terrorism exercise from April 17-18. EU Member States’ anti-terrorist law enforcement units united as part of the European sponsored ATLAS Network to carry out the most complex preparation and crises response simulation so far at the European level. The simulation involves simultaneous terrorist attacks in nine different EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Romania).

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, said, “The fight against terrorism is one of the key challenges to our internal security. Terrorism does not recognise borders and maintaining public security is a complex challenge which requires the coordination of our efforts. I believe that the cooperation between police authorities in Europe is more necessary now than ever and I welcome the exercise of the ATLAS network.”

The 2013 practical exercise, named “Common Challenge,” simulated terrorist attacks in nine different EU Member States in different areas of public life. Simulated terrorist targets included attacks on power plants, schools, and several transport modes (shops, busses, and trains). The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Home Affairs is responsible for the coordination of the simulation exercise, which is carried out jointly with the ATLAS Presidency held by the German Police Special Units (GSG9).

The Atlas Network, created in 2001, is an association consisting of special police units of the 27 EU Member States working on countering terrorism and criminal acts. The Network is financed and supported by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Home Affairs. The goal of the Atlas Network is to improve cooperation among the police units and to enhance skills by training and exchange of best practices