Cybersecurity: what's the plan?

Trust is an underlying condition for the EU Digital Single Market and without a credible cybersecurity strategy, there will be no trust. In February 2013, the Commission published a cybersecurity strategy alongside a proposed Directive on network and information security (NIS). The latter is currently in trialogue negotiations. The next trialogue is foreseen for June 9. The discussions have revealed a great lack of mutual trust between Member States, which prevents them from cooperating and thus protecting Europeans.

The hearing will serve to raise public awareness about the current situation in the EU and make stakeholders face up to their responsibilities. It will also assess the cybersecurity part of the Digital Single Market Act published on May 6 which announced the establishment of a public-private Partnership on cybersecurity and a review of the e-privacy Directive.

MEP Antanas Guoga - as ALDE shadow rapporteur of the NIS directive - has invited government representatives and EU officials to take stock of the progress made with the Directive, but also look ahead and come up with some new solutions.

The hearing will take a holistic approach and address cybersecurity in all its dimensions with the involvement of Members coming from five different parliamentary Committees (Gérard Deprez, Kaja Kallas, Hilde Vautmans, Sophie in't Veld) giving the floor to businesses and academics.