COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION update

 

Press material Friday 13 May 2022

● Council of the EU   13/05/2022 09:06 | Press release | Strengthening EU-wide cybersecurity and resilience – provisional agreement by the Council and the European Parliament   Today, the Council and the European Parliament agreed on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, to further improve the resilience and incident response capacities of both the public and private sector and the EU as a whole. Once adopted, the new directive, called ‘NIS2’, will replace the current directive on security of network and information systems (the NIS directive). Stronger risk and incident management and cooperation NIS2 will set the baseline for cybersecurity risk management measures and reporting obligations across all sectors that are covered by the directive, such as energy, transport, health and digital infrastructure. The revised directive aims to remove divergences in cybersecurity requirements and in implementation of cybersecurity measures in different member states. To achieve this, it sets out minimum rules for a regulatory framework and lays down mechanisms for effective cooperation among relevant authorities in each member state. It updates the list of sectors and activities subject to cybersecurity obligations, and provides for remedies and sanctions to ensure enforcement. The directive will formally establish the European Cyber Crises Liaison Organisation Network, EU-CyCLONe, which will support the coordinated management of large-scale cybersecurity incidents. Widening of the scope of the rules While under the old NIS directive member states were responsible for determining which entities would meet the criteria to qualify as operators of essential services, the new NIS2 directive introduces a size-cap rule. This means that all medium-sized and large entities operating within the sectors or providing services covered by the directive will fall within its scope. While the agreement between the European Parliament and the Council maintains this general rule, the provisionally agreed text includes additional provisions to ensure proportionality, a higher level of risk management and clear-cut criticality criteria for determining the entities covered. The text also clarifies that the directive will not apply to entities carrying out activities in areas such as defence or national security, public security, law enforcement and the judiciary. Parliaments and central banks are also excluded from the scope. As public administrations are also often targets of cyberattacks, NIS2 will apply to public administration entities of central governments [including universities and research institutions]. In addition, member states may decide that it applies to such entities at regional and local level too. Other changes introduced by the co-legislators The European Parliament and the Council have aligned the text with sector-specific legislation, in particular the regulation on digital operational resilience for the financial sector (DORA) and the directive on the resilience of critical entities (CER), to provide legal clarity and ensure coherence between NIS2 and these acts. A voluntary peer-learning mechanism will increase mutual trust and learning from good practices and experiences, thereby contributing to achieving a high common level of cybersecurity. The two co-legislators have also streamlined the reporting obligations in order to avoid causing over-reporting and creating an excessive burden on the entities covered. Member states will have 21 months from the entry into force of the directive in which to incorporate the provisions into their national law. Next steps The provisional agreement concluded today is now subject to approval by the Council and the European Parliament. On the Council’s side, the French presidency intends to submit the agreement to the Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee for approval at the end of May 2022. Draft directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union – provisional agreement text Draft directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union – Council general approach Cybersecurity: how the EU tackles cyber threats (background information) A digital future for Europe (background information) How the EU responds to crises and builds resilience (background information) Shaping Europe’s digital future - Cybersecurity policies (Commission information

Press material Friday 13 May 2022

● European Council   13/05/2022 05:45 | Statements and remarks | Statement by President Charles Michel during his visit to Hiroshima   I would like to thank Mayor Matsui for his kind invitation. It's an honour to visit this city and this park. I leave this museum with a deep feeling of sorrow and of horror. The suffering and the devastation that occurred here and in Nagasaki is haunting, even today, seventy-seven years later. But I also leave this museum seized by an intense determination to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction, and this city is a stark reminder of the urgency. We have international rules and global institutions for nuclear disarmament and arms control. We must protect them and strengthen them to secure peace and security. But as we speak, global security is under threat. Russia, a nuclear-armed state, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is attacking the sovereign nation of Ukraine, while making shameful and unacceptable references to the use of nuclear weapons. This is not only shaking the security of Europe, it's dangerously raising the stakes for the whole world. And here, in your neighbourhood, North Korea's illegal and provocative missile tests, like the one that took place only yesterday, are driving up tensions and endangering our safety. These urgent challenges are precisely why partnerships built on peace and rules-based international order – like our Japan-EU partnership – are so important, are so vital. Yesterday in Tokyo, together with Prime Minister Kishida, we stood side by side to reaffirm our common values and democratic principles. We also stand together for the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons, and we agreed to reinforce our cooperation on security and defence, including on disarmament and non-proliferation. We will also continue our ceaseless efforts to preserve the international agreement with Iran – the so-called JCPOA – which can remove the spectre of nuclear weapons in their hands. Our generation's duty is to strengthen existing nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation norms and make them universal. Standing here today in the hometown of the Prime Minister of Japan, I feel the strong bond between Europe and Japan. So it's no surprise that Europe and Japan, which suffered through the death and devastation of world wars, are so determined to make sure this never happens again. Il y a des moments dans l'histoire de chacun d'entre nous qui nous marquent à tout jamais. Et indiscutablement, cette visite de ce musée restera pour moi une empreinte indélébile. Je suis naturellement extrêmement ému par les images de souffrance, par les images dramatiques, par les images tragiques, par le visage des enfants, des femmes et des hommes, qui ont été directement affectés dans leur chair par cette tragédie. Cette tragédie a montré le pire de la nature humaine. Mais cette tragédie a aussi montré le courage, la résilience et la force de celles et ceux qui ensuite se sont levés pour reconstruire et rallumer la flamme de l'espoir. Et je forme le vœu que chaque être humain ait accès à la connaissance de l'histoire de l'humanité afin d'avoir la force de regarder l'avenir avec plus de confiance et plus d'optimisme. Et plus particulièrement je forme le vœu que les leaders politiques, qui ont une responsabilité particulière, témoignent aussi de ce devoir de mémoire afin de prendre des décisions qui soient justes pour la paix et pour la sécurité dans le monde. Je voudrais vous remercier, Monsieur le Maire, ainsi que les autorités du musée, pour m'avoir donné l'occasion de visiter votre ville et ce musée. Soyez convaincus que je quitterai Hiroshima et le Japon avec en moi le souvenir de cette visite marquante.