Meeting of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection in Brussels. Vote on the Cybersecurity directive (high common level of network and information security across the EU - NIS directive), statement by Andreas SCHWAB (EPP,DE) , Rapporteur.

meeting

vote

fight against cyber attacks (T)

SCHWAB, Andreas (EPP, DE)

Cybersecurity directive (high common level of network and information security across the EU - NIS directive): extracts from the vote, statement by Andreas SCHWAB (EPP,DE) , Rapporteur - Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Atmosphere before the voting starts, rapporteur Andreas Schwab in discussion with a colleague, (5 shots)

Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection opens the vote after a short introduction, (2 shots)

Vote is open, rapporteur SCHWAB, 36 in total, 34 in favour , (2 shots)

SOUNDBITE (German), Andreas SCHWAB (EPP, DE), <p>The IT security directive which could be brought on the way under the Luxembourg Presidency introduces for the first time security rules for 5 key business activities, to make sure that they are resilient against cyber attacks. This is nothing minor because the attacks cost the European citizens a lot of money, it goes up to hundreds of Billions of Euros per year. And we have seen that there are certain infrastructures that are unprotected, we are lucky until now, we have not encounter any mayor incident in the EU, but for example Ukraine was the target of a hacker attack in December, there the energy network was cut down for several days. Such incidents we do not like to see in the EU and therefore we have decided on this directive. And I think that we have found a good way to avoid bureaucratic handicaps but still to put the security of the citizens into the spot light.</p>

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas SCHWAB (EPP, DE), <p>Networking information security that we have been able to bring together under the Luxembourg Presidency is a tool that will have to proof its effectiveness over time. At this stage we don't have a standard that makes concrete let's say obligations for resilience for critical infrastructure. So the process will now show if wether we can make sure that the critical infrastructure at European level can be really fairly protected cross border to make sure that European citizens will be protected against cyber attacks, that can come from all over the world but also from within the EU.</p>