Security of EURO 2012

At a joint press conference held on 19 April 2007, the Minister of Interior and Administration, Janusz Kaczmarek, Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, and Minister of Sports, Tomasz Lipiec, informed about preparations of their ministries as regards safety issues for the occasion of European Football Championships EURO 2012.

The Minister of Interior and Administration presented the scope of the event: 2 countries organising the championships, 6 stadiums in Poland, the championships held during 23 days, 350 thousand foreign guests expected, 31 games held (15 in Poland), approx. 1 300 000 tickets sold. Minister Janusz Kaczmarek pointed out that the UEFA decision on granting the organisation of EURO 2012 to Poland and Ukraine was not only the result of an excellent plan of the event security on the application stage, but it was also due to personal meetings held by ministers of interior of Poland and Ukraine as well as due to seminars and visits of the UEFA representatives in Poland and Ukraine.

At the conference were presented expected dangers resulting from an immense scope of the event such as public order disturbances, increasing crime, problems with troublemakers, cramped borders, terrorist danger. 8 new border crossing points with Ukraine are planned as a part of the plan of organisation of cross-border traffic. On the championships starting date Poland should already be a party of the Schengen Treaty, and as a result, it should be possible to perform controls on EU internal crossing border points during the event.

MSWiA works on the emergency phone number 112 which shall be available in various language versions until the championships starting date. As regards legislation, we should fully implement the public event safety act and the act on modernisation of public services until 2012. The Police elaborated a series of sub-operations such as “Road” (“Droga”) which will facilitate road traffic or “Stations” (“Dworce”) and “Railway” (“Kolej”) aimed at securing mass communication infrastructure. Each city where games are to take place will be protected by 20 thousand policemen and additional police forces from other countries.

The Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, informed about work on novelisation of the Criminal Code which shall introduce new types of stadium crimes. The Minister pointed out that the Polish Parliament carries out work on more severe penalties to be specified in the Code of Offences. In the opinion of the Minister, 24-hour courts will make activities of justice during the European Football Championships EURO 2012 significantly more effective.

According to the Minister of Sports, during such large events as these championships, safety is as important as construction of roads and stadiums. The Minister pointed out that not only state administration units should contribute to the organisation of EURO 2012.