The EU Policy on Cyber Defence aims to boost EU cyber defence capabilities and strengthen coordination and cooperation between the military and civilian cyber communities (civilian, law enforcement, diplomatic and defence).

It will enhance efficient cyber crisis management within the EU and help reduce our strategic dependencies in critical cyber technologies, while strengthening the European Defence Technological Industrial Base (EDTIB).

The EU Policy on Cyber Defence is built around four pillars that cover a wide range of initiatives that will help the EU and Member States:  

• Act together for a stronger EU cyber defence: The EU will reinforce its coordination mechanisms among national and EU cyber defence players, to increase information exchange and cooperation between military and civilian cybersecurity communities, and further support military CSDP missions and operations.  

• Secure the EU defence ecosystem: Even non-critical software components can be used to carry out cyber-attacks on companies or governments, including in the defence sector. This calls for further work on cybersecurity standardisation and certification to secure both military and civilian domains.  

• Invest in cyber defence capabilities: Member States need to significantly increase investments in modern military cyber defence capabilities in a collaborative manner, using the cooperation platforms and funding mechanisms available at the EU level, such as PESCO, the European Defence Fund, as well as Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme.

• Partner to address common challenges: Building on existing security and defence as well as cyber dialogues with partner countries, the EU will seek to set up tailored partnerships in the area of cyber defence.