Europe arms itself against cyber catastrophe

LUXEMBOURG — The European Union will work more closely with national militaries and the NATO defense alliance to respond to large-scale cyberattacks, national ministers decided on Friday.

Ministers gathering in Luxembourg for a European Union meeting on telecom policy approved an update of the bloc's “cybersecurity blueprint” laying out Europe's response mechanisms to major cybersecurity incidents.

Dariusz Standerski, Poland's minister of digital affairs who chaired Friday's meeting, told POLITICO's Brussels Playbook that his country faced about 700 daily cyber incidents. "Poland is the most attacked country in the cyber sphere in the EU. However, we cannot guarantee that the other member state won't be the main adversaries in the next year? That's why we need to be prepared together," he said on Friday.

The new blueprint document makes clear which institutions — on the technical, operational and political levels — would react to large-scale attacks. It also calls for stronger cooperation with NATO by establishing “points of contact” in the event of a cyber crisis.

“Increasing geopolitical tensions, conflicts and strategic rivalry are reflected in the impact, volume and sophistication of malicious cyber activities,” the blueprint document said.

The EU said it will start rolling cyber exercises to train on crisis simulations, the first beginning in June 2026. These are expected to include the private sector and NATO, and could even involve officials from Western Balkan countries, Moldova and Ukraine.

Europe's response to cyber threats "must ... include a closer coordination between civil and military actors and a broad horizontal approach on cybersecurity," Denmark's Minister of Community Safety and Emergency Preparedness Torsten Schack Pedersen said.

Such cyberattacks and aggression "may form part of hybrid campaigns or military operations. They can also directly affect the Union’s security, economy and society,” according to the blueprint document. "In addition, they have spillover potential, particularly when these activities are targeted at international strategic partner countries such as candidate or neighboring countries,” the blueprint said.

The document also touches on secure communications, asking the European Commission to propose a solution by the end of 2026 as well as for the EU and national governments to develop a contingency plan for crises where normal communications channels are disrupted.

The update of the blueprint, requested by national capitals in May 2024, was originally proposed by the European Commission.

Antoaneta Roussi and Gabriel Gavin reported from Brussels. Mathieu Pollet reported from Luxembourg.