Dear Colleague,

We hereby present to you the newsletter of the first half of 2024.

In the current geopolitical context, the EU critical infrastructure framework has been reinforced with a Critical Infrastructure Blueprint. The Blueprint has been agreed at EU level in the form of a Council Recommendation, which was adopted in June. This framework will improve the EU cooperation as regards response to significant critical infrastructure incidents with cross-border relevance, by facilitating the exchange of information between the affected Member States and EU institutions, by strengthening the coordination on public communication and the support in the effective response to such incidents.    

The transposition of the CER Directive is on its way and Member States administrations are working hard to cross the finish line in October and have in place the national transposition measures that will enhance the resilience of critical entities operating critical infrastructure in the 11 sectors covered by the Directive, in the face of man-made and natural risks that could disrupt the provision of essential services in our society and economy. The Commission supports Member States in this process and the Critical Entities Resilience Group is proving to be a useful platform to discuss the challenges encountered and good practices.

Moreover, in late 2023, Member States finished conducting the stress tests of critical infrastructure in the energy sector. These focused mainly on intentional man-made threats such as sabotage and were based on scenarios and guidance formulated by JRC. The widespread participation and positive feedback by Member States and their infrastructure operators are considered a success. The reporting led to valuable insights on shared security challenges within the energy sector, paving the way for possible policy measures on further enhancing its resilience. Member States and the Commission will discuss what the options are in that regard.

The newsletter is a joint effort of the European Commission's Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs (HOME) and Joint Research Centre (JRC). We take this opportunity to thank again the whole community for a productive first half of the year, in which we were able to expand our cooperation in this key area. We look forward to continuing this great work with stakeholders from Member States, operators and industry, international partners, as well as academia and civil society.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! 

We invite you to flag your topics for the next editions by emailing us.

Happy reading,

The Editorial Team