EU agencies step up cooperation on cybersecurity

High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel are hosting today the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the European Union’s agencies working on cybersecurity and cyber defence.

Through this MoU, the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), the European Defence Agency (EDA), Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU Institutions, Agencies and Bodies (CERT-EU) agree to step up their cooperation to equip Europe with the right tools to deal with new cyber challenges. High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini, who is also the Head of the European Defence Agency, said: “Cyberspace threats do not know of national borders. Cooperation among Member States but also at European level is therefore essential. Europe is stronger when it tackles threats together, in a common and coordinated approach. And this is exactly where this Memorandum of Understanding is key and where the added value of the European Union lies: working together, joining forces, putting the experiences and the knowledge of all at the service of our citizens’ security.” This initiative will contribute to the EU’s cyber resilience and collective security by enhancing information sharing; cooperate on education and training and reinforcing collaboration on cyber exercises. It reflects the inter-institutional cooperation impetus initiated by the Directive on security of network and information systems (NIS Directive) and the European Commission’s cybersecurity initiatives from September 2017. A full press release will be available here at 15:00 CEST.