EU Proposes to Boost Cyber Defense and Promote Members’ Armed Forces Cooperation

According to several reports on November 10th, the European Commission proposed two action plans to strengthen the cyber defense and allow the armed forces of member states to move faster and better across the borders in response to the deteriorating international security situation after Russia invades Ukraine. EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced the plans at a news conference, saying Russia’s aggression against Kyiv was undermining the global peace and rule-based international system. He added that the war came to Europe once again and the defense policies had to adapt to the new challenges. The initiative was part of a series of measures proposed by the European Commission to enhance the EU’s cybersecurity in the event of massive cyberattacks on governments and businesses worldwide. The Commission’s policies would boost the EU’s overall cyber defense capabilities and strengthen coordination and cooperation between the military and civil cyber community. Last week, EU cybersecurity agency ENISA stated Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had resulted in more destructive and widespread cybersecurity attacks on the EU as of last July. The Commission proposed an “Action Plan on Military Mobility,” which allowed better and faster cross-border movement of member states’ armed forces and aimed to help EU countries and their partners deploy troops and equipment more efficiently, to protect EU citizens and troops. Cooperation with NATO should also be stepped up.