Press
The threads of EM safety converge at the IPCC in Neuss. Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the center. A wound on his face attracted attention.
Neuss – Since the eye patch issue, even a small change in the face of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has attracted a lot of attention. Like on Friday, when Scholz visited the International Police Cooperation Center (IPCC) in Neuss-Gnadental on the occasion of the 2024 European Championship. Hundreds of police officers from various European countries work together there and monitor the security situation of the European Championship on huge screens.
Olaf Scholz with a plaster on his chin visits the IPCC in Neuss for the 2024 European Championship
The Chancellor was originally supposed to arrive in the afternoon, but because the negotiations at the EU summit in Brussels were shorter than expected, he arrived around midday. There was a clearly visible plaster on his chin. No, of course there was no punch in the chin, they said with a wink – everything in Brussels was extremely civilized. The Chancellor simply cut himself while shaving.
During his visit, Scholz met with North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) and spoke with the police officers responsible for security at the European Championships. “This is a great achievement that is being accomplished here,” said the Chancellor. “One really shouldn’t underestimate this task.”
Hundreds of police officers monitor the security situation at the 2024 European Championship
The IPCC was set up four years ago in the premises of the local police training center. North Rhine-Westphalia plays a crucial role in the security of the European Championship, as 20 of the 51 games will take place in four stadiums in the state. The security authorities are mainly concentrating on potentially violent hooligans and possible attacks, especially by radical Islamists. At the opening of the IPCC a few weeks ago, Reul emphasized that they were well prepared, although there can never be 100 percent security.
![At the IPCC, police officers from many European countries are monitoring the security situation during the European Championships.](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/34/945/34945730-im-ipcc-beobachten-polizisten-aus-vielen-europaeischen-laendern-die-sicherheitslage-zur-em-2ltgx7J5ZVBG.jpg)
Chancellor Scholz: “Grateful for ensuring security”
“I am very grateful that the smooth cooperation and the guarantee of safety have worked well so far,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “I hope that this will be the case until the end of the European Championships and that it will remain safe.” Scholz stressed that the success of the European Championships is not only based on the performance of the teams, but also on the people who work at the IPCC. “This is a first-class performance that we all rely on.”
A total of 300 emergency personnel work directly at the situation center in Neuss. Another 300 are deployed at each of the European Championship venues. The decision to have the main security headquarters for the whole of Germany in Neuss during the European Championship was made at the Conference of Interior Ministers. One reason: four of the ten European Championship stadiums – Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen and Cologne – are located in the most populous federal state. In addition, the police training center in Neuss, which is normally based here, was also a good option from a logistical point of view. During the European Football Championship, the police academy can simply suspend its operations. And there are enough sleeping spaces and recreational rooms for the police officers in the building complex.
All information from the stadiums and the respective surroundings – including weather data – is permanently displayed on a 40 square meter video wall in a central room. In addition to police, forces from the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Federal Intelligence Service and the disaster control agency also work together in the IPCC.
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