The challenges to the European Union’s security and resilience are becoming increasingly complex and dynamic. The weaponization of energy and the acts of sabotage against the Nord Stream gas pipelines have led to heightened attention to ensure the resilience of Europe’s critical infrastructure. Against this background, the EU and NATO have come together to support efforts to enhance national and collective resilience against threats to critical infrastructure.
On 16 March, the EU and NATO joined forces to strengthen the existing cooperation by launching an EU-NATO Task Force on Resilience of Critical Infrastructure to reinforce Europe’s common security. This Task Force was announced jointly by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg on 11 January 2023.
On this occasion, von der Leyen, said: “We must strengthen the resilience of our critical infrastructure to always be ready. Today we successfully launched the first meeting of the Task Force for Resilient Critical Infrastructure. EU and NATO senior experts will work hand in hand to identify key threats to our critical infrastructure and work on responses.”
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The EU and NATO will share best practices, enhance situational awareness, and develop key principles to improve resilience, including mitigating measures and remedial actions. The Task Force will cover four sectors at this stage:
- Energy
- Digital infrastructure
- Transport
- Space
NATO-EU cooperation has reached unprecedented levels in recent years, mainly since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine started. In January, NATO and EU leaders signed a new joint declaration to take a partnership between the organizations to a new level, including emerging and disruptive technologies, space, and the security impact of climate change.
The EU is also taking action to protect its space assets, defend its interests, deter hostile activities in space, and strengthen its strategic posture and autonomy. Last week for the first time, the Commission and the High Representative developed a Joint Communication on a European Space Strategy for Security and Defence.
