In a document dated 10 January entitled ‘Draft Council Conclusions on reliable and resilient connectivity’, obtained by Agence Europe, EU Member States set out a number of avenues for action and reflection on the security of European telecommunications.
Focusing on the resilience of infrastructures, the document follows on from the basis proposed by the Commission in its ‘White Paper’, which was accompanied by a recommendation on the security of submarine cables (see EUROPE 13355/8).
Member States are expected to recognise Europe’s “critical dependence” in this area and the need to strategically redefine communications network development. The strategy is designed to “safeguard the EU’s strategic autonomy and economic prosperity, with particular attention to technological and economic resilience, together with digital sovereignty”.
The Council is expected to indicate that it “endorses” the proposal to create a ‘3C Network’ (‘Connected Collaborative Computing’), which would serve as an ecosystem for integrating the entire end-to-end value chain, to overcome the fragmentation of the sector and stimulate its development.
Here again, a “holistic” approach to the sector and the integration of the different types of existing networks, “including terrestrial, non-terrestrial and submarine cables”, should be favoured, to make it “a cohesive, reliable, and resilient system, fostering ubiquitous and seamless connectivity across Europe enhancing competitiveness and reinforcing the European Single Market”, and which would take into account in its development strategy “current and emerging technologies like AI, 6G and quantum communications”.
The conclusions regularly mention the need to ensure “Europe’s economic development, strategic autonomy and technological leadership”, while the issue of European competitiveness and its critical dependencies is at the heart of the work of the next Commission.
On the issue of funding, the EU Council is expected to call for “strategic investments to enhance digital infrastructure resilience”, without giving any further details.
Still on the subject of security, the EU Council conclusions are expected to mention the need to implement the NIS2 directive and its objectives in terms of cybersecurity (see EUROPE 13506/11) and to ensure protection and prevention of threats to the sector, including physical threats (see EUROPE 13534/12).
As for the economic issue, it seems to be approached with caution, in line with the guidelines mentioned for the overhaul of European telecommunications (see EUROPE 13540/4): ensuring the deepening of the market through greater harmonisation, while recognising the diversity of service models.
The conclusions, still in draft form, will be put forward for discussion at the Council’s Working Party on Telecommunications Working Group on Wednesday 21 January.
See the document: https://aeur.eu/f/f2t (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)