With cyberattacks consistently increasing in number, complexity and sophistication, the EU is leaving nothing to chance.

Today, MEPs on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy approved an agreement reached with the European Commission and the Council of Ministers on the establishment of a new EU Cybersecurity Competence Centre.

The EU Institutions, Agencies and indeed EU national governments themselves, have clearly become prime targets of unscrupulous cybercriminals.

“With the establishment of the Cybersecurity Competence Centre, the EU is boosting its cybersecurity resilience and the competitiveness of its cybersecurity industry”, said the EPP Group Spokeswoman Pilar del Castillo MEP. The centre will be based in Bucharest, Romania.

This new centre will house experts in industry, technology, and research. It will be the facilitator of a network linking national coordination centres and will be responsible for coordinating funds with EU countries.

Digital Europe Programme

Today, the same Committee MEPs also approved the Digital Europe Programme, which was also agreed between the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission.

This is a new instrument that will boost digital capabilities in Europe and will fund projects accelerating Europe's digital transformation. €7.5 billion will be distributed across five priority areas which include cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises will be able to participate in cybersecurity projects and the EU may cover up to 100% of the costs.

The Digital Europe Programme is of paramount importance as it is one of the drivers behind digitalisation. It supports the necessary infrastructure and the necessary digital skill set.

If proof was ever needed, the pandemic has shown why the digitalisation of our economy and society is urgently needed.

Photo: Harland Quarrington/MOD, Wikimedia commons.