The European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen remarked that bad actors now target EU structures of the bloc. She spoke about it on Wednesday and added ways to protect these crucial structures with advanced surveillance to stop sabotage against them.
Protecting These Infrastructures Is a Priority
The head of the EC addressed the EU parliament in Strasbourg and explained how the attack on Nord Streams 1 and 2 demonstrates how easily it can be harmed. It signals that the bloc will soon face dangerous times, reported Euronews.
The two Nord Stream pipelines that pass the Baltic Sea to hook up Germany and Russia were discovered to have four leaks the other week.
Although an ongoing inquiry, Western countries assert that the seismic activity was more likely the outcome of deliberate action. Sweden and Denmark sent a letter to the UN Security Council in which seismological institutes had noticed explosions.
Von der Leyen described pipelines and underwater cables as the life rafts of information and power for European citizens and companies and that it is consequently in the interest of all Europeans to better protect this vital infrastructure.
The EU is currently redrafting its 2008 critical EU structures guidelines to include 11 risk areas, like natural disasters, terrorist attacks, malicious insiders, and vandalism, along with public health crises such as the most recent COVID-19 disease outbreak.
A new law is expected to go into effect through 2024, but European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen asserted last Wednesday that they should now be starting to work on this basis. The new legislation still requires MEP authorization, noted Yahoo News.
Bloc leaders must stress test their infrastructures, such as their systems for supplying energy and other high-risk elements like power lines and the internet.
The Bloc Is More Vulnerable Than Ever Before
Addressing that critical infrastructure of the EU, which is under fire from bad actors, remarked the commissioner for home affairs, citing Euractiv.
After the alleged sabotage of the Nord Streams 1 and 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, Ylva Johansson, the commissioner for home affairs, stressed that the bloc supports Ukraine, per TRT World.
It is still an omnipresent threat to the bloc's existence. Organs in the Union had agreed with new rules from a broader perspective since 2008, when the bloc had already formulated the Critical Infrastructure Directive early in the year.
The official continued by stating that they're aware of how susceptible these infrastructural facilities are and that the Commission has created a new directive with much higher ambition, and that the co-legislators also have consented.
Moreover, they are ready with legislative measures, and it's evident that in such a war, this threat is also directed toward the European Union and its consciousness of this potential danger but already prepared.
The expanded critical infrastructure directive covers 11 risk points that should protect security for bloc interests. Enforcement of these new rules is set for 2024, and members are told to comply as soon as they apply. She added that all members must comply and fines are a possibility, but these concerns are urgent.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen's address regarding EU structures and the recent attack on Nord Stream must be avoided.
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