ATLAS Network

ATLAS
Formation	2001
Legal status	Transnational Organization
Purpose	Police tactical unit co-operation
Headquarters	Brussels, Belgium
Region served	Europe
Main organ	Various Committees
Parent organization	European Union

Last updated October 29, 2024

The ATLAS network is an association of law enforcement special intervention units from the 27 Member States of the European Union and associated countries. It was established following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, on the initiative of the European Police Chiefs Task Force (EPCTF).^[1]^[2] Together, these top-tier units maintain a constant state of readiness, poised to respond to any security crisis in Europe at any time.^[3]

History

ATLAS was initially informally established for information exchange and training activities co-operation between units. It was later formalised by a decision of the Council of the European Union in 2008, which also expanded ATLAS's functions to include the provision of assistance upon request to another Member State.^[1]^[2]^[4]

In 2018, an ATLAS Support Office was established within Europol's European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) in The Hague, Netherlands, thereby strengthening the role of the ATLAS Network within European law enforcement organisations.^[5]

Terms

ATLAS uses the terms 'special intervention unit' and 'crisis situation' defined as follows:

'Special intervention unit' refers to any law enforcement unit of a Member State that is specialised in controlling a crisis situation;^[1]
'Crisis situation' refers to any situation in which the competent authorities of a Member State have reasonable grounds to believe that there is a criminal offence presenting a serious direct physical threat to persons, property, infrastructure, or institutions in that Member State, particularly in situations combating terrorism.^[1]

Organization

ATLAS recognises that a Member State may not have the means, resources, or expertise to handle all crisis situations, particularly large crises. It provides a framework for a Member State to request assistance from another Member State.^[1]

Members

ATLAS consists of 38 special intervention units, including units from non-EU Member States such as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and the United Kingdom.^[6]^[7] The non-EU Member States can participate and use of all facilities, but they do not have voting rights.^[8]

Country	Unit	Part of	Notes
Austria	EKO Cobra ^[6]^[7] Einsatzkommando Cobra Task Force Cobra	Federal Ministry of the Interior
Belgium	DSU ^[6]^[7] Direction des unités spéciales Directorate of Special Units	Federal Police
Bulgaria	SOBT ^[6]^[7] Специализиран отряд за борба с тероризма Special Counter Terrorism Unit	Ministry of Interior
Croatia	ATJ Lučko ^[6]^[7] Antiteroristička jedinica Lučko Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit	Croatian Police
Cyprus	EAO ^[6]^[7] Mechanokiniti Monada Amesis Drasis Emergency Response Unit	Cyprus Police
Czech Republic	URNA ^[6]^[7] Útvar rychlého nasazení Rapid Response Unit	Police of the Czech Republic
Denmark	AKS ^[6]^[7] Politiets Aktionsstyrke Special Intervention Unit	Danish National Police
Estonia	K-Komando ^[6]^[7] Counter Terrorism Unit	Police and Border Guard Board
Finland	Karhu ^[6]^[7] Helsingin poliisilaitos Valmiusyksikkö Police Special Intervention Unit	Helsinki Police Department
France	GIGN ^[6]^[7] Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale National Gendarmerie Intervention Group	National Gendarmerie
France	RAID ^[6]^[7] Recherche, Assistance, Intervention, Dissuasion Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence	National Police
Germany	GSG 9 ^[6]^[7] GSG 9 der Bundespolizei GSG 9 of the Federal Police	Federal Police	Formerly known as Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (GSG 9; Border Protection Group 9) of the Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS; Federal Border Protection) from 1972 until 2005
Germany	SEK ^[6]^[7] Spezialeinsatzkommando Special Task Force	State Police	SEK Baden-Württemberg representing the SEKs of the various State Police forces
Greece	EKAM ^[6]^[7] Eidiki Katastaltiki Antitromokratiki Monada Special Suppressive Antiterrorist Unit	Hellenic Police
Hungary	TEK ^[6]^[7] Terrorelhárítási Központ Counter Terrorism Centre	Ministry of Interior
Iceland	Viking ^[6]^[7] Sérsveit ríkislögreglustjóra Special Unit of the National Police Commissioner	Icelandic Police	Non-EU participant
Ireland	ERU ^[6]^[7] Aonad Práinnfhreagartha Emergency Response Unit	Garda Síochána
Italy	GIS ^[6]^[7] Gruppo di Intervento Speciale Special Intervention Group	Carabinieri
Italy	NOCS ^[6]^[7] Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza Central Security Task Group	National Police
Latvia	OMEGA ^[6]^[7] Pretterorisma vienība Omega Counterterrorism Unit OMEGA	State Police
Lithuania	ARAS ^[6]^[7] Antiteroristinių Operacijų Rinktinė ARAS Anti-terrorist Operations Unit ARAS	Lithuanian Police Force
Luxembourg	USP ^[6]^[7] Unité Spéciale de la Police Police Special Unit	Grand Ducal Police
Malta	SIU ^[6]^[7] Special Intervention Unit	Malta Police Force
Netherlands	DSI ^[7] Dienst Speciale Interventies Special Intervention Service	National Police Corps
Norway	Delta ^[6]^[7] Politiet Beredskapstroppen Emergency Unit DELTA	Norwegian Police Service	Non-EU participant
Poland	BOA ^[6]^[7] Centralny Pododdział Kontrterrorystyczny Policji Central Counter-terrorism Police Subunit	Polish Police
Portugal	GIOE ^[6]^[7] Grupo de Intervenção de Operações Especiais Special Operations Intervention Group	National Republican Guard
Portugal	GOE ^[6]^[7] Grupo de Operações Especiais Special Operations Group	Public Security Police
Romania	BSIJ ^[6]^[7] Brigada Specială de Intervenție a Jandarmeriei Gendarmerie Special Intervention Brigade	Romanian Gendarmerie
Romania	SIAS ^[6]^[7] Serviciul de Intervenții și Acțiuni Speciale Special Actions and Intervention Service	Romanian Police
Slovakia	Lynx Commando ^[6]^[7] Útvar osobitného určenia Special Operations Unit - Lynx Commando	Ministry of the Interior
Slovenia	Red Panther ^[6]^[7] Specialna Enota Policije Special Police Unit	Slovenian National Police Force
Spain	UEI ^[6]^[7] Unidad Especial de Intervención Special Intervention Unit	Civil Guard
Spain	GEO ^[6]^[7] Grupo Especial de Operaciones Special Operations Group	National Police Corps
Sweden	NI ^[6]^[7] Nationella insatsstyrkan National Task Force	Swedish Police Authority
Switzerland	SWISS SIU^[6]^[7] Swiss Special Intervention Units	Cantonal police	Non-EU participant
United Kingdom	SCO19 ^[6]^[7] Specialist Firearms Command 19	Metropolitan Police	Non-EU participant
United Kingdom	HMSU ^[6]^[7]^[9] Headquarters Mobile Support Unit	Police Service of Northern Ireland	Non-EU participant

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 On the improvement of cooperation between the special intervention units of the Member States of the European Union in crisis situations (Council Decision 2008/617/JHA). 23 June 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
1 2 "Seminar of the ATLAS network of European special intervention units". Presidency of the Council of the European Union. October 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011.
↑ "ATLAS Network". The Hague: European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL). 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
↑ Block, Ludo (15 March 2007). "Europe's Emerging Counter-Terrorism Elite: The ATLAS Network". Terrorism Monitor. 5 (5). The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
↑ "Closer international cooperation to fight hostage-taking, kidnapping and terrorism". Europol.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 "ATLAS Network". Europol. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 "Closer international cooperation to fight hostage-taking, kidnapping and terrorism". Europol (Press release). 10 October 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
↑ "Strengthening the ATLAS Network". Council of the European Union. 1 September 2017. 11828/17. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
↑ "ATLAS Network". www.europol.europa.eu. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.

External links

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[EU2008-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 On the improvement of cooperation between the special intervention units of the Member States of the European Union in crisis situations (Council Decision 2008/617/JHA). 23 June 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2017.

[Seminar2008-2] 1 2 "Seminar of the ATLAS network of European special intervention units". Presidency of the Council of the European Union. October 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011.

[INTPL1-3] "ATLAS Network". The Hague: European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL). 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2024-08-29.

[4] Block, Ludo (15 March 2007). "Europe's Emerging Counter-Terrorism Elite: The ATLAS Network". Terrorism Monitor. 5 (5). The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 7 October 2017.

[5] "Closer international cooperation to fight hostage-taking, kidnapping and terrorism". Europol.

[Europol2023-6] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 "ATLAS Network". Europol. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.

[Europol2018-7] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 "Closer international cooperation to fight hostage-taking, kidnapping and terrorism". Europol (Press release). 10 October 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020.

[8] "Strengthening the ATLAS Network". Council of the European Union. 1 September 2017. 11828/17. Retrieved 21 August 2020.

[9] "ATLAS Network". www.europol.europa.eu. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.

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