The Informal Council of the European Union Transport, Telecommunications and Energy has unanimously passed a Warsaw Call declaration on cyber defence management as an effort to strengthen EU resilience to cyber threats with the rapidly evolving technologies in mind. This was the first meeting of the EU Council on cyber security and defence.
“The EU mechanism for crisis management needs revision. The decision taken today is an important step forward. Russia’s war against Ukraine has reshaped the geopolitical situation significantly, in the light of which we also need new important decisions on cyber security. We must encourage more cooperation among EU member states on cyber threat data sharing and cooperation with the likeminded partners, especially in the area of critical infrastructure security,” Vice Minister Tomas Godliauskas said.
The meeting addressed underwater cable security as well, an increasingly more important security in the Baltic Sea topic.
“It is critically important to Lithuania and the entire Baltic Sea region to protect the undersea cables against physical impact and cyberattacks. The EU should work harder on strengthening security of this infrastructure in light of the recent incidents in the Baltic Sea,” T. Godliauskas underscored.
The Ministers in charge of cybersecurity encouraged to approve as a matter of urgency the EU Cyber Blueprint, a document developed to strengthen the current cybersecurity structures and mechanisms, as well as to ensure fluent and secure cyber threat data exchange and clear definition of crisis management functions and responsibilities for EU member states and cyber security institutions.
Governmental representatives underscored that the NIS 2 Directive (in Lithuania: the Law on Cyber security) should remain the main piece of EU legislation so that legal regulation is consistent.
The Council underscored the need to develop an action plan on the advanced breakthrough technology impact on cyber security. It should address key opportunities presented by the technology and potential risks with regard to the post-quantum technology and AI evolution.
Poland chairs the EU Council until the end of June. Lithuania will hold the responsibilities in January-June 2027.
