site.btaEC Urges Bulgaria and 23 More EU Countries to Implement Critical Infrastructure Protection Rules

The European Commission has called on Bulgaria and 23 more Member States to implement the European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection, a package of measures aimed at improving the protection of critical infrastructure in Europe. The Commission is opening infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice for the countries concerned because they failed to notify national measures transposing the Directive (EU) 2022/2557 on the resilience of critical entities. The deadline was October 17.

The Directive ensures the provision of vital services in key sectors such as energy, transport, health, water, banking and digital infrastructure, by strengthening the resilience of critical infrastructure and critical entities against a range of threats, including natural hazards, terrorist attacks, insider threats, or sabotage.

Besides Bulgaria, the countries that missed the October 17 deadline are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands,  Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. These countries have two months to respond, complete their transposition and notify their measures to the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.