Brussels, 11/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to an announcement by the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU (Coreper) on 11 March, the Latvian Presidency of the Council will resume trialogue negotiations with the European Parliament on the Network Information Security (NIS) Directive in an effort to reach an agreement.
This is the third round of the negotiations between the Council of Ministers and the EP on the 'NIS' directive but the first round under the Latvian presidency. On 27 November 2014, the previous Italian Presidency announced that it had made progress in the discussions with the Parliament on the final stumbling blocks relating to the directive's scope and questions linked to strategic and operational cooperation (see EUROPE 11206). Discussions will resume at the end of April, at the request of the European Parliament. The latter adopted its position in a first reading in March 2014.
The aim of the NIS directive is to ensure that member states, key Internet service providers and critical infrastructure operators guarantee a secure digital environment throughout the EU. The main challenge is striking the right balance between binding EU level rules and voluntary measures that states can adopt and which ultimately should lead to similar levels of preparation for NIS and allow the EU to effectively respond to the challenges created by digital threats.
The Commissioner for the Digital Economy, Günther Oettinger, welcomed the new mandate given to the Presidency of the Council to resume the discussions and emphasised, “this is good news. The Commission will ensure that the trialogue produces ambitious results that respond to cyber security challenges”. (Isabelle Lamberty)