On Thursday 7 October, MEPs called on the European Union to strengthen defence capabilities and to develop European cyber capabilities in the face of growing cyberattacks.
According to Urmas Paet’s report, which was adopted in the plenary session (591 votes in favour to 65 against, with 26 abstentions), Member States should take advantage of the European Defence Fund to jointly develop these capabilities.
The European Parliament therefore calls in particular on the European External Action Service and the European Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to further develop a comprehensive set of measures and a coherent cyber security policy, in order to enhance both resilience and coordination in terms of cyber defence. It calls for the creation of a joint cyber security unit with which to address the lack of information sharing between EU institutions, bodies and agencies, and to foster a fast and secure information network.
The report recalls that the Union’s ability to develop cyber defence projects depends on mastering the technologies, equipment, services and data, as well as their processing, and needs to rely on a base of trusted sectoral actors.
MEPs also call for greater cooperation within the EU, between Member States and with NATO.
During the debate on the report on Tuesday 5 October, Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen agreed that there was a need to join forces and mobilise resources to deal with cyberattacks. “To protect cyberspace, we must modernise our capabilities, advance research, training and exercises, and increase our efforts to prevent, deter and respond to cyberattacks”, she added, highlighting that cyber defence will also be a key aspect of the 'Strategic Compass', which is expected to be adopted in March.
See the report: https://bit.ly/3adJ2sD (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)