The European Commission announced an investment of €5.8 million to create the first two regional centers dedicated to the monitoring and protection of submarine cables, in addition to launching a call for €40 million to strengthen Europe’s capacity to repair this critical infrastructure.
The measures are part of the implementation of the European Union Action Plan on Cable Security, designed to increase the resilience of communications and energy systems that run along the seabed and are essential to the functioning of Europe’s digital economy.
Two regional centers for monitoring critical infrastructure
The first initiative envisages the creation of a regional center in the Baltic Sea, which will receive funding of €2.5 million. Its objective will be to strengthen monitoring and response mechanisms through greater coordination between national and cross-border security operations centers.
Finland will lead this project together with Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, and Sweden. Planned actions include strengthening information-sharing platforms and developing capabilities to detect and prevent threats targeting strategic maritime infrastructure.
Europe seeks to accelerate submarine cable repairs
In addition to the regional centers, Brussels opened a call for €40 million funded through the CEF Digital program, aimed at improving response capacity to major submarine cable disruptions.
The initiative will fund adaptable repair modules that can be rapidly deployed using specialized vessels already in operation. These resources will be strategically distributed to address emergencies in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and other European maritime basins.
Digital security and European cooperation
The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) will play a central role in implementing these initiatives, managing the calls and the allocation of funds.
The Commission considers strengthening the protection of submarine cables a strategic priority due to the growing number of incidents recorded in recent years and the importance of this infrastructure for transporting data and energy between countries.
A commitment to resilience and technological sovereignty
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President responsible for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, highlighted that these actions represent a significant step forward for Europe’s response capacity in the face of emerging threats.
The creation of the first regional centers and the strengthening of submarine cable repair resources aim to provide a more comprehensive operational picture of the situation in Europe’s maritime basins and improve coordination among Member States in the event of potential incidents.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/
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