EIES Allied Energy Infrastructure Security Roundtable
19 December 2024
Author:EIES
The evolving threat environment underscores the urgency of protecting critical infrastructure, particularly energy systems that underpin economic stability and national security.
EIES’ Brussels Roundtable on Allied Energy Infrastructure Security on 22 November 2024 brought together high-level representatives from NATO, the European Commission, industry, the financial sector and independent experts to evaluate the resilience of Europe’s energy infrastructure and associated supply chains.
The discussion - informed by individual interviews with participants ahead of the meeting - identified vulnerabilities of energy critical infrastructure (CI) and options for strengthening energy system resilience against physical, cyber and hybrid threats, and supply chain disruptions.
As the European continent’s energy system becomes more interconnected, key issues include the need for enhanced NATO-EU and cross-border cooperation (including with Norway, the UK, Switzerland, Ukraine and other neighbours), streamlined mechanisms for public-private partnership, including for information- and intelligence sharing, better alignment of risk assessments, and greater investment in resilience under a ‘security by design’ approach.
Key suggestions include:
Improving allied EU-NATO and public-private sector communication and cooperation at European and national level to enhance European energy infrastructure resilience.
Introducing a two-way information-sharing framework and centralised guidance to strengthen public-private cooperation before, during and after a crisis.
Diversifying energy-related supply chains such as supplies of raw materials and equipment, expanding domestic production capacity and ensuring proactive stockpiling of critical components for energy CI.
A front-end “security by design” approach in building and upgrading energy infrastructure would enhance the resilience of Europe’s energy system in the long-term.
Introducing explicit, mandatory security and resilience criteria in public procurement and European funding instruments to improve the resilience of energy CI.