On the day before the conference, CoESS also convened a meeting of its Cohesion Committee, chaired by Riho Lutter, bringing together colleagues from Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Serbia — reinforcing regional dialogue and cooperation.
Special thanks go to Lidija Stolica, Chairperson of CSA, and Alen Javorović, Secretary General, for their warm welcome and excellent organisation.

CoESS Director General Catherine Piana was invited to deliver the opening speech and to participate in a high-level panel on the EU perspective of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP). The conference focused on two key themes: safety in schools and the transposition of the Critical Entities Resilience Directive.

A Dynamic Member Driving Change

The event showcased the remarkable activity and engagement of CSA, the Croatian member association of CoESS. CSA has built strong, constructive ties with the Croatian Ministry of the Interior, and continues to advocate for a professional and integrated approach to CIP.

Bringing EU Perspectives to Zagreb

In her presentation, Catherine Piana outlined the EU Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive, explaining its relevance to both public authorities and private security companies. She emphasized that while the Directive is a major step forward, its success will depend on implementation, cooperation, and the adoption of quality standards like EN 17483.

Drawing on CoESS’ work, she highlighted how standards act as the bridge between policy and practice, offering tools for CI operators to identify high-quality private partners. She also pointed to the Directive’s call to promote standards (Article 16 and Recital 34) and its recognition of private security companies as “critical personnel” under Article 13.1.e.

The Case for Smart Information Sharing

In the panel discussion, Catherine stressed the vital importance of exchanging relevant, actionable information with private security actors. Referring to CoESS’ White Paper on Public-Private Partnerships, she reminded the audience that while authorities often worry about the risk of sharing, there is also a serious risk in not sharing.

“We are not asking for classified intelligence,” she explained, “but for timely, targeted information that helps us protect the exact infrastructure we are contracted to secure. The risk of sharing should be weighed against the risk of omission — a key point in today’s security landscape.”

A Shared Mission for Resilience

The Zagreb conference reaffirmed the value of strong public-private cooperation, underpinned by shared standards, open dialogue, and mutual trust. CoESS was proud to support the CSA and the wider Croatian security community in advancing this mission — and will continue to amplify the role of private security companies in building a more resilient, secure Europe.