The European Commission said its Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Telecom received 49 project proposals around cybersecurity, from transport and energy companies, ICT firms, ministries and national organisations from 19 member states, according Telecompaper. Taken together, the proposals ask for an EU investment of 18.3 million to improve cybersecurity capabilities, for projects worth a total of EUR 28 million. The EU budget dedicated for this call was EUR 13 million. The proposals will now be reviewed and the first projects start by summer 2019.
The 2018-3 CEF Telecom cybersecurity call was started to help the EU prepare for cyber threats, in line with the 2017 Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council on building strong cybersecurity for the EU, and in line with the Directive on security of network and information systems (NIS Directive, 2016/1148). The call also addressed broader cybersecurity aspects such as strengthening cross-border cooperation for cybersecurity and in the area of connected automated mobility.
The EU wants to address the growing threat of cybersecurity and has made the issue a strategic policy priority. The Digital Europe Programme, proposed by the EC for the next 2021-2027 long-term budget, is expected to continue putting attention on this point.
