On Thursday, 28 October, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) voted in favour of the report by Bart Groothuis (Renew Europe, the Netherlands) on measures aiming to ensure a high level of cybersecurity within the European Union (70 votes in favour, 3 against, and 1 abstention) (see EUROPE 12792/22).
“We must act quickly so that Europe does not remain attractive to hackers”, declared Mr Groothuis, reminding his fellow committee members that several Member States had been hit by large-scale attacks in recent months.
The revision of the current rules notably plans to affect more sectors. Thus, sectors characterised as ‘essential’—such as health, energy, or even transport—would be covered by these provisions and would benefit from increased monitoring.
Smaller entities that also represent a high risk would be covered by the new provisions as well.
Other sectors described as ‘important’—such as postal services or waste management—would also benefit from better coverage than that provided for in the current rules.
The text, which stresses the need for a coordinated response to cybersecurity threats and crises, also establishes a framework in order to foster the exchange of information between Member States and envisages the creation of a European vulnerability database.
On Thursday, the ITRE Committee also voted overwhelmingly in favour of the European Parliament’s mandate in preparation for negotiations with the EU Council (71 votes in favour, 2 against, and 1 abstention). This mandate will be confirmed during the plenary session on 10 November.
At present, it is not known what date interinstitutional negotiations will start, since the EU Council has not yet reached a political agreement in principle (‘general approach’). The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU hopes to achieve this by the end of its term, a source told EUROPE. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)