Proposal for an EU COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on a Blueprint to coordinate a Union-level response to disruptions of critical infrastructure with significant cross-border relevance
Brussels, 6.9.2023
COM(2023) 526 final
Non-legislative procedure; Non legislative enactments (NLE)
2023/0318 (NLE)
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:9d905b3c-4cbc-11ee-9220-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
available in the languages of the European Union https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52023DC0526&qid=1694601052237
The proposal aims at complementing the current legal framework by describing the coordinated response at Union level when it comes to disruptions of critical infrastructure with significant cross-border relevance while making use of existing Union-level arrangements.
Concretely, the proposal describes the scope and the objectives of the Blueprint and the actors, the processes and existing tools that could be used in order to respond, in a coordinated way at Union level, to a disruptive critical infrastructure incident with significant cross-border effect and describes the modes of cooperation between the Member States, Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies in such situations
Point (1) sets out the need for enhanced cooperation as regards response to significant critical infrastructure incidents in accordance with the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint contained in the present proposed Recommendation, including the relevant parts of its Annex.
Point (2) specifies the scope of the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint, which refers to two types of situations of disruptive incidents that would trigger the application of the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint: the incident has either a significant disruptive effect on the provision of essential services to or in six or more Member States; or has a significant disruptive effect in two or more Member States and there is agreement among the relevant actors mentioned therein of the need for Union level coordination due to the significant impact of the incident.
Point (3) refers to the identification of the relevant actors to be involved in the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint and the levels at which the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint will operate (operational, strategic/political). This is further explained in the Annex to the Recommendation.
Point (4) recommends the application of the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint in coherence with other relevant instruments, as described in the Annex.
Point (5) recommends to Member States to effectively respond, at national level, to significant disruptions of critical infrastructure.
Point (6) recommends establishing or designating points of contact by the relevant actors that should support the use of the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint. Where possible, these points of contact should be the same as the single points of contact under the CER Directive.
Point (7) refers to the flow of information in case of a significant critical infrastructure incident.
Point (8) expands on how the exchange of information should take place.
Point (9) recommends testing the functioning of the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint through exercises.
Point (10) recommends that lessons identified should be discussed in the Critical Entities Resilience Group, which should prepare a report, including recommendations. The report should be adopted by the Commission.
Point (11) recommends to Member States to discuss the report in the Council.
This Council Recommendation lists very detailed evidence for existing cross-domain and cross-European legal acts and indicates on the necessity for establishing a cooperation framework at Union level for a coordinated response to significant critical infrastructure incidents
The Annex describes the objectives, principles, main actors, the interplay with existing crisis response mechanisms and the functioning of the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint with its two modes of cooperation: the information exchange and the response.
ANNEX to the Proposal for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION
on a Blueprint to coordinate a Union-level response to disruptions of critical infrastructure with significant cross-border relevance
Brussels, 6.9.2023 COM(2023) 526 final
note especially PART II: INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND COORDINATED RESPONSE, pp. 5 ff
Schematic Overview of the Critical Infrastructure Blueprint
Critical Infrastructure Blueprint Decision
