Brussels, 05/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 1 June, further to the work of a group of external experts who conducted an evaluation of the results of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), the European Commission adopted a communication in which it considers that a public consultation and an impact study should be initiated, including a cost/benefit analysis on ENISA's extension and future. The Commission will inform the European Parliament and the Council of all results obtained.
In the context of the public consultation and the impact assessment study, the Commission considers that several solutions are to be studied. First of all, the choice needs to be made between extending the mandate of the agency or replacing the agency by another mechanism, such as a permanent forum of stakeholders or a network of security organisations. If the mandate is to be extended, decisions need to be taken on the optimal operational size of the agency in view of the need to enhance its networking capability and a possible expansion of its tasks. The Commission considers, moreover, that the agency's remit would need to be made more precise to support the networks and information security components of the electronic communication regulatory framework being revised under the 2006 review. The goal would be to clarify how the Agency should work with national regulatory bodies, other centres of expertise in the member states, and the private sector to define requirements and guide their implementations to meet security and integrity challenges related to current and future electronic networks. “In doing so, it will be crucial for ENISA to focus on impacts rather than deliverables in order to achieve a maximum added value for the internal market”, reads the text of the communication that can be consulted on: http: //eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2007/com2007_0285en01.pdf (ol)