“A resilient Europe must be able to prevent, protect from and respond to traditional and emerging threats”

The Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU wants to “open up the route to follow” in terms of security and protection of public spaces and critical infrastructure, more vulnerable nowadays to a number of “new threats”.

The priority was established by the Portuguese Minister for Home Affairs, Eduardo Cabrita, during an initiative by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU, which involved experts, security forces, agencies and institutions from the 27, as well as the European Commission.

The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson i, who also took part in this meeting, via a video message, stressed that “attacks, disasters and accidents cause loss of life, human suffering and economic damage”.

In 2019, for example, the European Commission registered almost 450 cybersecurity incidents involving critical infrastructure in Europe. Ylva Johansson said that during the COVID-19 pandemic “we witnessed cyberattacks that targeted hospitals. This is unacceptable”, she emphasised.

The Commissioner confessed that she hopes to “continue to work alongside Minister Eduardo Cabrita and the Portuguese Presidency in order to further discussions on this important topic”.