NATO and EU strike force to boost protection of critical infrastructure

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The joint task force will focus on making “critical infrastructure, technology and supply chains more resilient to potential threats” and take action to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.

The NATO and the EU they agreed to create one Working Group (Task Force) to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure, announced today from Brussels, G.G. of NATO Jens Stoltenberg and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

G. Stoltenberg and von der Leyen met shortly before the security and defense discussions of the College of European Commissioners, in which the NATO Secretary General also participated. Mr Stoltenberg stressed that resilience and the protection of critical infrastructure is a key part of joint work between NATO and the EU. He said that in the wake of President Putin’s “instrumentalisation” of energy and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, the joint task force will focus on making “critical infrastructure, technology and supply chains more resilient to potential threats” and take action to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.

The meeting took place one day after the signing of the third joint statement on NATO-EU cooperation. G. Stoltenberg said that this cooperation is more important than ever because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally changed Europe’s security. He stressed that the fierce battles around Bakhmut and Solendar showed the bravery of Ukrainian forces and the vital importance of strengthening military support to Ukraine. “At this key juncture of the war, we must do even more, even faster,” he said.

For her part, the President of the Commission said that “the sabotage of the Nord Stream showed that we have to be ready and that we have to face this new kind of threats”. He added that the new EU-NATO Working Group on Critical Infrastructure Protection will initially cover four areas: transport, energy, digital network and space and that it is essentially about information sharing, early warning and shared expertise.

At the same time, von der Leyen emphasized the need to strengthen Europe’s defense capabilities, saying that “a stronger European defense will also make NATO stronger.” He also added that a strong industrial military base must be maintained in Europe. “Already the European Defense Fund is helping to develop cutting-edge military technologies and now we need to make progress on common defense procurement,” he said.

RES-EMP

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