On Thursday 8 December, the EU Council adopted a directive and a recommendation aimed at reducing vulnerabilities and strengthening the resilience of critical entities.
The adopted directive covers critical entities in a number of sectors, such as energy, transport, health, drinking water, waste water and space. Certain central public administrations will also be covered by some of the provisions of the directive (see EUROPE 13068/16).
Member States will need to have a national strategy to strengthen the resilience of critical entities, conduct a risk assessment at least every four years, and identify critical entities that provide essential services. The directive also establishes rules for the identification of critical entities of particular European importance. A critical entity is considered of particular European importance if it provides an essential service to six or more Member States.
In response to the recent acts of sabotage against the Nord Stream pipeline and the new risks posed by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the recommendation adopted also addresses the strengthening of the resilience of critical infrastructure. This recommendation, which was proposed in October (see EUROPE 13045/11), aims to accelerate the preparatory work for the implementation of the objectives set in the Critical Entity and NIS 2 Directives.
Link to the directive: https://aeur.eu/f/4lc
Link to the recommendation: https://aeur.eu/f/4ld (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)