Safeguarding supply chains is crucial for the EU’s economy and security, yet significant challenges remain. While daily trade volumes are vast, security breaches like theft, counterfeiting, smuggling, and sabotage threaten business viability and European competitiveness. These vulnerabilities could ultimately affect societal security and quality of life. Despite agreement on the importance of supply chain security, progress is hindered by misunderstandings and fragmented approaches. The public sector is advancing security certifications and technologies, but traders often find these burdensome, leading to increased costs and delays. Differing certification standards and conflicting protocols complicate compliance, highlighting the need for greater international cooperation and standardisation.

The CORE project aimed to strengthen EU and international supply chain security while supporting business performance, particularly along key supply chain corridors. It addressed the needs of customs, law enforcement, and other authorities to enhance security and compliance without raising transaction costs, and of business stakeholders seeking to align trade facilitation with supply chain visibility and optimisation. CORE built on solutions from previous projects across sectors (port, container, air, and post) and conducted implementation-driven R&D to identify practical gaps and develop scalable, effective solutions, promoting sustainable progress in supply chain security across all EU Member States and globally.