Cooperation and independence will be some of the matters of priority for the future Executive Director of the Cybersecurity Agency, Juhan Lepassaar. In mid-July, Commissioner Ansip's former Chief of Staff was appointed by the Agency's Management Board to replace Udo Helmbrecht. He must still be designated by the European Parliament following his presentation to the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on Tuesday 3 September.
This presentation is required by the new Cybersecurity Act, which strengthens ENISA's mandate and entered into force on 27 June (see EUROPE 12283/7).
After MEP Mikuláš Peksa (Greens/EFA, Czech Republic) questioned his skills (his CV listed training as an interior designer and political scientist), Juhan Lepassaar defended his candidacy, recalling that he had worked for former Vice-President Ansip, who was responsible for the Digital Single Market, and for the Estonian Government Office.
Regarding the Cybersecurity Agency as such, he contended that this structure should focus on implementing the Directive on security of network and information systems (NIS), bring together experts and expertise, facilitate cooperation, learn from incidents, and promote e-health. As regards the timetable, he indicated that a call for expressions of interest had already been launched to form the certification group (a mechanism provided for by the Cybersecurity Act) and that the Agency planned to submit its opinion on 5G in September, in accordance with the recommendations on network security (see EUROPE 12300/5). Finally, he urged the co-legislators to adopt the legislative proposal on cybersecurity competence centres, stating that they “represent a valuable ally for ENISA” (see EUROPE 12279/8). (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)