May 24, 2016

The Council says that the Network and Information Security Directive will increase cooperation between Member States on the vital issue of cybersecurity.  It lays down security obligations for operators of essential services (in critical sectors such as energy, transport, health and finance) and for digital service providers (online marketplaces, search engines and cloud services).  Each EU country will also be required to designate one or more national authorities and to establish a strategy for dealing with cyber threats.

The Netherlands presidency of the Council together with the EU Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) has already started preparing for implementation of the Directive.  A first informal meeting of the network of Computer security incident response teams set up under the Directive took place in The Hague on 5 April, followed by a second meeting in Riga on 10 May 2016.

The Council position at first reading adopted on 17 May 2016 confirmed the agreement reached with the European Parliament in December 2015.  To conclude the procedure, the Directive must still be approved by the European Parliament at second reading.  The Directive is expected to enter into force in August 2016.  To read the Council’s press release in full, click here.