The concern about a possible attack in Germany during the Euro football championship is palpable. The recent attack in Mannheim, in which a police officer lost his life after being attacked with a knife by a suspected Islamist, has further fueled the debate about how to protect as much as possible the millions of fans who will attend the event that begins next June 14 in Germany. The German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, acknowledged this Tuesday that although there are “no concrete indications of attack plans”, the danger is “abstractly high.” “The security of the European football championship in Germany is our top priority,” she declared.
Germany is aware of the challenge of ensuring security in a tournament in which 24 countries compete in the football stadiums of Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund. In total, it is expected that some 2.7 million people from all over Europe will attend the stadiums and that up to 12 million will follow the matches in the places set up for this purpose in public spaces, notably the fan zone at the Brandenburg Gate in the capital, with capacity for 30,000 people.
“There are going to be temporary border controls at all internal German borders during the Euro Cup,” the minister recalled during the presentation press conference on the security preparations for the sports championship. “This is a large additional task for the federal police, but it will make an important contribution to security,” she explained of a measure that seeks to arrest possible violent criminals, especially hooligans.
“It is true that the security situation is tense. The focus of attention ranges from the threat of Islamist terrorism, hooligans and other violent criminals to cyber attacks. However, I can also say that there are currently no concrete indications of a threat in relation to the Euro Cup,” he declared. At this point, Faeser stated that it is clear that “100% security does not exist.” “We are and will continue to be extremely vigilant. “We are doing everything possible to recognize and prevent dangers at an early stage.”
Germany must especially confront the danger from the terrorist group ISIS-K, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, which tries to incite its followers to commit attacks and practically suggests targets for them. In a publication, the terrorist group declared the Euro Cup as its objective in a kind of photomontage, in which the venues of Munich, Dortmund and Berlin were mentioned to score “the last goal.”
For Herbert Reul, Minister of the Interior of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where four of the ten stadiums are located, these images do not surprise the security authorities, but rather what they seek is to “spread insecurity among the population.” ”. However, he noted that ensuring security at the tournament is going to be “an incredible challenge.” In his opinion, although there are no concrete indications of a possible attack, it is something that “can happen at any time, any day.”
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To try to minimize the risk, “all available police forces are being deployed,” Reul stressed at the press conference, at the same time that he reported that a vacation ban has been imposed on security forces during the Euro ―which is It will be played from June 14 to July 14― to have all possible troops. However, he recalled that the Police are not responsible for security everywhere – the interior of the stadiums is in the hands of the venue operators, basically UEFA and the German Football Federation.
Along with national troops, Germany will have around 350 police officers from participating European countries, especially France, who will assist German agents. All security (internal and external) will be coordinated through the International Police Cooperation Center (IPCC), in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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