Euro 2008 security on track, says EU expert

By Mark Ledsom

SOLOTHURN, Switzerland (Reuters) - Switzerland's police preparations for Euro 2008 are on track with few causes for concern, Dutch security expert Otto Adang said on Tuesday.

Adang, the European Union coordinator for police cooperation at international football matches, headed a team that carried out inspections in the four Swiss host cities between August and December 2007.

"Our general assessment is a lot of preparation has already been done and the four host cities are on track," Adang told reporters.

"All the necessary aspects have been covered."

Adang highlighted several areas where improvements could still be made including better training of private security staff within the stadiums.

He also said police officers needed a deeper understanding of the three-pronged approach of "dialogue, de-escalation and intervention" used to general success by German police at the 2006 World Cup.

"There still seems to be a misunderstanding that dialogue is only useful when the situation is peaceful," Adang said. "In fact it is important even at the highest level to still try and communicate.

"The police had a good sense of what the philosophy was about but more work needs to be done on putting it into practice."