Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on ENISA, the "EU Cybersecurity Agency", and repealing Regulation (EU) 526/2013, and on Information and Communication Technology cybersecurity certification (''Cybersecurity Act'')
Date: 2018-02-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, computer crime, data protection, information network, operation of the Institutions, transmission network

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 22.2.2018  COM(2017) 477 final/3 2017/0225 (COD)  CORRIGENDUM  This document corrects document COM(2017)477 final/2 of 04.10.2017  Concerns all language versions.  Correction of errors of a clerical nature, correction of some references and adding the title of an article.  The text shall read as follows: Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on ENISA, the "EU Cybersecurity Agency", and repealing Regulation (EU) 526/2013, and on Information and Communication Technology cybersecurity certification (''Cybersecurity Act'') (Text with EEA relevance) {SWD(2017) 500 final}  - {SWD(2017) 501 final}  - {SWD(2017) 502 final}  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

The  European  Union  has  taken  a  number  of  actions  to  increase  resilience  and  enhance  its 
cybersecurity  preparedness.  The  first  EU  Cybersecurity  Strategy1  adopted  in  2013  set  out 
strategic  objectives  and  concrete  actions  to  achieve  resilience,  reduce  cybercrime,  develop 
cyberdefence  policy  and  capabilities,  develop  industrial  and  technological  resources  and 
establish  a  coherent  international  cyberspace  policy  for  the  EU.  In  that  context,  important 
developments have taken place since then, including in particular the second mandate for the 
European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA)2 and the adoption of 
the Directive on security of network and information systems3 (the 'NIS Directive'), which 
form the basis for the present proposal.  

Furthermore,  in  2016  the  European  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  on 
Strengthening  Europe's  Cyber  Resilience  System  and  Fostering  a  Competitive  and 
Innovative Cybersecurity Industry4, in which further measures were announced to step-up 
cooperation,  information  and  knowledge  sharing  and  to  increase  the  EU’s  resilience  and 
preparedness, also taking into account the prospect of large scale incidents and a possible pan-
European cybersecurity crisis. In this context, the Commission announced that it would bring 
forward  the  evaluation  and  review  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  526/2013  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  concerning  ENISA  and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)  No 
460/2004  ("ENISA  Regulation").  The  evaluation  process  could  lead  to  a  possible  reform  of 
the Agency and an enhancement of its capabilities and capacities to support Member States in 
a  sustainable  manner.  It  would  therefore  give  it  a  more  operational  and  central  role  in 
achieving cybersecurity resilience and would acknowledge in its new mandate the Agency’s 
new responsibilities under the NIS Directive. 

The  NIS  Directive  is  a  first  essential  step  with  a  view  to  promoting  a  culture  of  risk 
management, by introducing security requirements as legal obligations for the key economic 
actors, notably operators providing essential services (Operators of Essential Services – OES) 
and suppliers of some key digital services (Digital Service Providers – DSPs). With security 
requirements being seen as essential to safeguard the benefits of the evolving digitalisation of 
society, and given the rapid proliferation of connected devices (the Internet of Things – IoT), 
the 2016 Communication also put forward the idea of establishing a framework for security 
certification for ICT products and services in order to increase trust and security in the digital 
single  market.  ICT  cybersecurity  certification  becomes  particularly  relevant  in  view  of  the 
increased use of technologies which require a high level of cybersecurity, such as connected 
and automated cars, electronic health or industrial automation control systems (IACS).  

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Joint  Communication  of  the  European  Commission  and  the  European  External  Action  Service: 
Cybersecurity Strategy of the European Union: An Open, Safe and Secure Cyberspace - JOIN(2013). 
Regulation  (EU)  526/2013  concerning  the  European  Union  Agency  for  Network  and  Information 
Security (ENISA) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 460/2004 
Directive  (EU)  2016/1148  concerning  measures  for  a  high  common  level  of  security  of  network  and 
information systems across the Union 
Commission  Communication  on  Strengthening  Europe's  Cyber  Resilience  System  and  Fostering  a 
Competitive and Innovative Cybersecurity Industry, COM/2016/0410 final. 

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These  policy  measures  and  announcements  were  further  reinforced  by  the  2016  Council 
Conclusions, which acknowledged that "cyber threats and vulnerabilities continue to evolve 
and  intensify  which  will  require  continued  and  closer  cooperation,  especially  in  handling 
large-scale cross-border cybersecurity incidents". The conclusions reaffirmed that "the ENISA 
Regulation is one of the core elements of an EU cyber resilience framework"5 and called upon 
the Commission to take further steps to address issue of certification at the European level. 

The  establishment  of  a  certification  system  would  require  the  setting-up  of  an  appropriate 
governance system at EU level, including thorough expertise provided by an independent EU 
agency.  In  this  respect,  the  present  proposal  identifies  ENISA  as  the  natural  EU-level  body 
competent  on  cybersecurity  matters  which  should  take  up  such  role  to  bring  together,  and 
coordinate the work of, national competent bodies in the field of certification.  

In  its  Communication  on  the  DSM  Strategy  Mid-term  Review  of  May  2017,  the 
Commission  further  specified  that  by  September  2017  it  would  review  the  mandate  of 
ENISA. This in order to define its role in the changed cybersecurity ecosystem and develop 
measures on cybersecurity standards, certification and labelling to make ICT-based systems, 
including connected objects, more cyber-secure.6 The European Council conclusions in June 
20177  welcomed  the  Commission's  intention  to  review  the  Cybersecurity  Strategy  in 
September and to propose further targeted actions before the end of 2017. 

The proposed Regulation provides for a comprehensive set of measures that build on previous 
actions and fosters mutually reinforcing specific objectives: 

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Increasing capabilities and preparedness of Member States and businesses;  

Improving  cooperation  and  coordination  across  Member  States  and  EU 
institutions, agencies and bodies; 

Increasing EU level capabilities to complement the  action of  Member  States, in 
particular in the case of cross-border cyber crises; 

Increasing awareness of citizens and businesses on cybersecurity issues;  
Increasing  the  overall  transparency  of  cybersecurity  assurance8  of  ICT  products 
and services to strengthen trust in the digital single market and in digital innovation; 
and 

Avoiding  fragmentation  of  certification  schemes  in  the  EU  and  related  security 
requirements and evaluation criteria across Member States and sectors. 

The following  part  of the Explanatory  Memorandum explains the rationale for the initiative 
with respect to the proposed actions for ENISA and cybersecurity certification in more detail.  

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Council Conclusions on Strengthening Europe's Cyber Resilience System and Fostering a Competitive 
and Innovative Cybersecurity Industry - 15 November 2016. 
Commission  Communication  on  the  Mid-Term  Review  on  the  implementation  of  the  Digital  Single 
Market Strategy -  COM(2017) 228.  
European Council meeting (22 and 23 June 2017) – Conclusions EUCO 8/17. 
Transparency  of  cybersecurity  assurance  means  providing  users  with  sufficient  information  on 
cybersecurity properties  which  enables  users  to  objectively  determine  the  level  of  security  of  a  given 
ICT product, service or process. 

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ENISA 

ENISA acts as a centre of expertise dedicated to enhancing network and information security 
in the Union and supporting capacity building of Members States.  
ENISA  was  set  up  in  20049  to  contribute  to  the  overall  goal  of  ensuring  a  high  level  of 
network  and  information  security  within  the  EU.  In  2013,  Regulation  (EU)  No  526/2013 
established  the  new  mandate  of  the  Agency  for  a  period  of  seven  years,  until  2020.  The 
Agency has its offices in Greece, notably the administrative seat in Heraklion (Crete) and the 
core operations in Athens.   

ENISA is a small agency with a low budget and number of staff compared to all EU agencies. 
It has a fixed-term mandate. 

ENISA supports the European institutions, the Member States and the business community in 
addressing,  responding  and  especially  in  preventing  network  and  information  security 
problems. It does so through a series of activities across five areas identified in its strategy10: 

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Expertise:  provision  of  information  and  expertise  on  key  network  and 
information security issues. 

Policy: support to policy making and implementation in the Union. 

Capacity:  support  for  capacity  building  across  the  Union  (e.g.  through 
trainings, recommendations, awareness raising activities). 

Community:  foster  the  network  and  information  security  community  (e.g. 
support  to  the  Computer  Emergency  Response  Teams  (CERTs),  coordination 
of pan-European cyber exercises). 

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Enabling (e.g. engagement with the stakeholders and international relations). 

In  the  course  of  the  negotiations  of  the  NIS  Directive,  the  EU  co-legislators  decided  to 
attribute important roles to ENISA in the implementation of this Directive. In particular, the 
Agency  provides  the  secretariat  to  the  CSIRTs  Network  (established  to  promote  swift  and 
effective operational cooperation between Member States on specific cybersecurity incidents 
and sharing information about risks), and it is also called on to assist the Cooperation Group 
in  the  execution  of  its  tasks.  In  addition,  the  Directive  requires  ENISA  to  assist  Member 
States and the Commission by providing expertise and advice and by facilitating the exchange 
of best practices. 

In accordance with the ENISA Regulation, the Commission has carried out an evaluation of 
the  Agency  which  includes  an  independent  study  as  well  as  a  public  consultation.  The 
evaluation assessed the relevance, impact, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added 
value  of  the  Agency  with  regard  to  its  performance,  governance,  internal  organisational 
structure and working practices during the period 2013-2016. 

The  overall  performance  of  ENISA  was  positively  assessed  by  a  majority  of  respondents11 
(74%) in the public consultation. A majority of respondents furthermore considered ENISA to 

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Regulation  (EC)  n°  460/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  10  March  2004 
establishing the European Network and Information Security Agency, OJ L 77, 13.3.2004, p. 1. 
https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/corporate/enisa-strategy  

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be  achieving  its  different  objectives  (at  least  63%  for  each  of  the  objectives).  ENISA’s 
services  and  products  are  regularly  (monthly  or  more  often)  used  by  almost  half  of  the 
respondents  (46%)  and  are  appreciated  for  the  fact  that  they  stem  from  an  EU-level  body 
(83%) and for their quality (62%).  

However,  a  large  majority  (88%)  of  respondents  considered  the  current  instruments  and 
mechanisms available at EU level to be insufficient or only partially adequate in addressing 
the current cybersecurity challenges. A large majority of respondents (98%) indicated that an 
EU body should address these needs, and among them ENISA was considered to be the right 
organisation to do so by 99% of the respondents. In addition, 67.5 % of respondents expressed 
the view that ENISA could play a role in establishing a harmonized framework for security 
certification of IT products and services.  

The  overall  evaluation  (based  not  only  on  the  public  consultation  but  also  on  a  number  of 
individual  interviews,  additional  targeted  surveys  and  workshops)  reached  the  following 
conclusions:  

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ENISA's  objectives  remain  relevant  today.  In  a  context  of  fast  technological 
developments and evolving threats and in view of the growing global cybersecurity 
risks, there is a clear need in the EU for fostering and further reinforcing high-level 
technical expertise on cybersecurity issues. Capacities need to be built in the Member 
States to understand and respond to threats and stakeholders need to cooperate across 
thematic fields and across institutions.  

Despite its small budget, the Agency has been operationally efficient in the use of its 
resources and in the implementation of its tasks. The location split between Athens 
and Heraklion has, however, also generated further administrative costs. 

In  terms  of  effectiveness,  ENISA  partially  met  its  objectives.  The  Agency 
successfully contributed to improving network and information security in Europe by 
offering  capacity  building  in  28  Member  States12,  enhancing  cooperation  between 
Member States and network and information security stakeholders, and by providing 
expertise, community building and support to the development of policies. Overall, 
ENISA diligently focused on the implementation of its work programme and acted as 
a  trusted  partner  for  its  stakeholders,  in  a  field  which  has  only  recently  been 
recognised to have such strong cross-border relevance.  

ENISA  managed  to  make  an  impact,  at  least  to  some  extent,  in  the  vast  field  of 
network  and  information  security,  but  it  has  not  fully  succeeded  in  developing  a 
strong  brand  name  and  gaining  sufficient  visibility  to  become  recognised  as  "the" 

90 stakeholders from 19 Member States replied to the consultation (88 responses and 2 position papers), 
including  national  authorities  from  15  Member  States  and  8  umbrella  organisations  representing  a 
significant number of European enterprises. 
Respondents  to  the  public  consultation  were  asked  to  comment  on  what  they  perceived  as  ENISA’s 
main  achievements  over  2013-2016.  Respondents  from  all  groups  (in  total  55,  including  13  from 
national authorities, 20 from private sector and 22 from "other") perceived the following as ENISA’s 
main achievements: 1) The coordination of the Cyber Europe exercises; 2) The provision of support to 
CERTs/CSIRTs  through  training  and  workshops  fostering  coordination  and  exchange;  3)  ENISA’s 
publications (guidelines and recommendations, threat landscape reports, strategies for incident reporting 
and  crisis  management  etc.)  that  were  considered  as  useful  to  create  and  update  national  security 
frameworks,  as  well  as  for  reference  to  policy  makers  and  cyber  practitioners;    4)  Assisting  with  the 
promotion of the NIS Directive; 5) Efforts to increase awareness on cybersecurity via the cybersecurity 
month. 

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centre of expertise in Europe. The explanation for this lies in the broad mandate of 
ENISA,  which  was  not  equipped  with  proportionally  sufficient  resources. 
Furthermore,  ENISA  remains  the  only  EU  agency  with  a  fixed-term  mandate,  thus 
limiting  its  ability  to  develop  a  long-term  vision  and  support  its  stakeholders  in  a 
sustainable  manner.  This  also  contrasts  with  the  provisions  of  the  NIS  Directive, 
which entrust ENISA with tasks with no end date. Finally, the assessment found that 
this  limited  effectiveness  can  partly  be  explained  by  the  high  reliance  on  external 
expertise  over  in-house  expertise,  and  by  the  difficulties  in  recruiting  and  retaining 
specialised staff. 

Last but not least, the evaluation concluded that ENISA’s added value lies primarily 
in the Agency’s ability to enhance cooperation mainly between Member States, and 
especially with related network and information security communities (in particular 
between CSIRTs). There is no other actor at EU level that supports such broad scope 
of  network  and  information  security  stakeholders.  However,  due  to  the  need  to 
strictly  prioritise  its  activities,  ENISA’s  work  programme  is  mostly  guided  by  the 
needs  of  Member  States.  As  a  result,  it  does  not  sufficiently  address  the  needs  of 
other  stakeholders,  in  particular  the  industry.  It  also  made  the  Agency  reactive  to 
fulfilling  the  needs  of  its  key  stakeholders,  preventing  it  from  achieving  a  bigger 
impact. Therefore, the added value provided by the Agency varied according to the 
diverging needs of its stakeholders and to the extent to which the Agency was able to 
respond  to  them  (e.g.  large  versus  small  Member  States;  Member  States  versus 
industry).  

In  summary,  the  results  of  the  stakeholders'  consultations  and  evaluation  suggested  that 
ENISA's  resources  and  mandate  need  to  be  adapted  so  that  it  can  play  an  adequate  role  in 
responding to present and future challenges.  

In  view  of  these  findings,  the  present  proposal  reviews  the  current  mandate  of  ENISA  and 
lays  down  a  renewed  set  of  tasks  and  functions,  with  a  view  to  effectively  and  efficiently 
supporting Member States, EU institutions and other stakeholders' efforts to ensure a secure 
cyberspace  in  the  European  Union.  The  new  proposed  mandate  seeks  to  give  the  Agency  a 
stronger  and  more  central  role,  in  particular  by  also  supporting  Member  States  in 
implementing  the  NIS  Directive  and  to  counter  particular  threats  more  actively  (operational 
capacity)  and  by  becoming  a  centre  of  expertise  supporting  Member  States  and  the 
Commission on cybersecurity certification. Under this proposal:  

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ENISA would be granted a permanent mandate and thus be put on a stable footing 
for  the  future.  The  mandate,  objectives  and  tasks  should  still  be  subject  to  regular 
review. 

The  proposed  mandate  further  clarifies  the  role  of  ENISA  as  the  EU  agency  for 
cybersecurity and as the reference point in the EU cybersecurity ecosystem, acting in 
close cooperation with all the other relevant bodies of such an ecosystem.  

The organisation and the governance of the Agency, which were positively judged in 
the  course  of  the  evaluation,  would  be  moderately  reviewed,  in  particular  to  make 
sure  that the needs of the wider stakeholders' community are better reflected in  the 
work of the Agency.  

The  suggested  scope  of  the  mandate  is  delineated,  strengthening  those  areas  where 
the agency has shown clear added value and adding those new areas where support is 
needed  in  view  of  the  new  policy  priorities  and  instruments,  in  particular  the  NIS 

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Directive,  the  review  of  the  EU  Cybersecurity  Strategy,  the  upcoming  EU 
Cybersecurity Blueprint for cyber crisis cooperation and ICT security certification: 

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EU policy development and implementation:  ENISA would be tasked with 
proactively  contributing  to  the  development  of  policy  in  the  area  of  network 
information  security,  as  well  as  to  other  policy  initiatives  with  cybersecurity 
elements  in  different  sectors  (e.g.  energy,  transport,  finance).  To  this  end,  it 
would  have  a  strong  advisory  role,  which  it  could  fulfil  by  providing 
independent opinions and preparatory work for the development and the update 
of  policy  and  law.  ENISA  would  also  support  the  EU  policy  and  law  in  the 
areas of electronic communications, electronic identity and trust services, with 
a view to promoting an enhanced level of cybersecurity. In the implementation 
phase,  in  particular  in  the  context  of  the  NIS  Cooperation  Group,  ENISA 
would  assist  Member  States  in  achieving  a  consistent  approach  on  the 
implementation of the NIS Directive across borders and sectors, as well as in 
other  relevant  policies  and  laws.  In  order  to  support  the  regular  review  of 
policies  and  laws  in  the  area  of  cybersecurity,  ENISA  would  also  provide 
regular reporting on the state of implementation of the EU legal framework.  

Capacity building: ENISA would be contributing to the improvement of EU 
and national public authorities' capabilities and expertise, including on incident 
response and on the supervision of cybersecurity related regulatory measures. 
The  Agency  would  also  be  required  to  contribute  to  the  establishment  of 
Information  Sharing  and  Analysis  Centres  (ISACS)  in  various  sectors  by 
providing  best  practices  and  guidance  on  available  tools  and  procedures,  as 
well  as  by  appropriately  addressing  regulatory  issues  related  to  information 
sharing. 

Knowledge and information, awareness raising: ENISA would become the 
information  hub  of  the  EU.  This  would  imply  the  promotion  and  sharing  of 
best  practices  and  initiatives  across  the  EU  by  pooling  information  on 
cybersecurity  deriving  from  the  EU  and  national  institutions,  agencies  and 
bodies.  The  Agency  would  also  make  available  advice,  guidance  and  best 
practices  on  the  security  of  critical  infrastructures.  In  the  aftermath  of 
significant  cross-border  cybersecurity  incidents,  ENISA  would  furthermore 
compile  reports  with  a view  of  providing  guidance  to  businesses  and citizens 
across the EU. This stream of work would also involve the regular organisation 
of awareness raising activities in coordination with Member States authorities.  

  Market related tasks (standardisation, cybersecurity certification): ENISA 
would  perform  a  number  of  functions  specifically  supporting  the  internal 
market  and  cover  a  cybersecurity  'market  observatory',  by  analysing  relevant 
trends in the cybersecurity market to better match demand and supply, and by 
supporting  the  EU  policy  development  in  the  ICT  standardisation  and  ICT 
cybersecurity certification areas. With regard to standardisation in particular, it 
would  facilitate  the  establishment  and  uptake  of  cybersecurity  standards. 
ENISA  would  also  execute  the  tasks  foreseen  in  the  context  of  the  future 
framework for certification (see below section).  

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Research and innovation: ENISA would contribute its expertise by advising 
EU  and  national  authorities  on  priority-setting  in  research  and  development, 
including  in  the  context  of  the  contractual  public-private  partnership  on 
cybersecurity  (cPPP).  ENISA's  advice  on  research  would  feed  into  the  new 

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European  Cybersecurity  Research  and  Competence  Centre  under  the  next 
multi-annual financial framework. ENISA would also be involved, when asked 
to do so by the Commission, in the implementation of research and innovation 
EU funding programmes. 

Operational cooperation and crisis management: this stream of work should 
build  on  strengthening  the  existing  preventive  operational  capabilities,  in 
particular upgrading the pan-European cybersecurity exercises (Cyber Europe) 
by  having  them  on  a  yearly  basis,  and  on  a  supporting  role  in  operational 
cooperation  as  secretariat  of  the  CSIRTs  Network  (as  per  NIS  Directive 
provisions)  by  ensuring,  among  others,  the  well-functioning  of  the  CSIRTs 
Network  IT  infrastructure  and  communication  channels.  In  this  context,  a 
structured  cooperation  with  CERT-EU,  European  Cybercrime  Centre  (EC3) 
and  other  relevant  EU  bodies  would  be  required.  Furthermore,  a  structured 
cooperation  with  CERT-EU,  in  close  physical  proximity,  should  result  in  a 
function to provide technical assistance in case of significant incidents and to 
support  incident  analysis.  Member  States  that  would  request  it  would  receive 
assistance  to  handle  incidents  and  support  for  the  analysis  of  vulnerabilities, 
artefacts and incidents in order to strengthen their own preventive and response 
capability.  

ENISA would also play a role in the EU cybersecurity blueprint presented as 
part of this package and setting the Commission's recommendation to Member 
States  for  a  coordinated  response  to  large-scale  cross-border  cybersecurity 
incidents and crises at the EU level13. ENISA would facilitate the cooperation 
between  individual  Member  States  in  dealing  with  emergency  response  by 
analysing  and  aggregating  national  situational  reports  based  on  information 
made available to the Agency on a voluntary basis by Member States and other 
entities. 

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Cybersecurity certification of ICT products and services 

In  order  to  establish  and  preserve  trust  and  security,  ICT  products  and  services  need  to 
directly  incorporate  security  features  in  the  early  stages  of  their  technical  design  and 
development (security by design). Moreover, customers and users need to be able to ascertain 
the level of security assurance of the products and services they procure or purchase.  

Certification, which consists of the formal evaluation of products, services and processes by 
an independent and accredited body against a defined set of criteria standards and the issuing 
of a certificate indicating conformance, plays an important role in increasing trust and security 
in  products  and  services.  While  security  evaluations  are  quite  a  technical  area,  certification 
serves the purpose to inform and reassure purchasers and users about the security properties 
of the ICT products and services that they buy or use. As mentioned above, this is particularly 
relevant for new systems that make extensive use of digital technologies and which require a 

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The  "blueprint"  will  apply  to  cybersecurity  incidents  whose  disruption  is  more  extensive  than  any 
Member State can handle on its own or affects two or more Member States with such a wide-ranging 
and significant impact or political significance that they require timely policy coordination and response 
at Union political level. 

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high level of security, such as e.g. connected and automated cars, electronic health, industrial 
automation control systems (IACS)14 or smart grids. 

Currently, the landscape of cybersecurity certification of ICT products and services in the EU 
is quite patchy. There are a number of international initiatives, such as the so-called Common 
Criteria  (CC)  for  Information  Technology  Security  Evaluation  (ISO  15408),  which  is  an 
international  standard  for  computer security evaluation.  It is based on third party evaluation 
and  envisages  seven  Evaluation  Assurance  Levels  (EAL).  The  CC  and  the  companion 
Common  Methodology  for  Information  Technology  Security  Evaluation  (CEM)  are  the 
the  Common  Criteria  Recognition 
technical  basis  for  an 
Arrangement (CCRA), which ensures that CC certificates are recognized by all the signatories 
of the CCRA. However, within the current version of the CCRA only evaluations up to EAL 
2 are mutually recognized. Moreover, only 13 Member States have signed the Arrangement.  

international  agreement, 

The  certification  authorities  from  12  Member  States  have  concluded  a  mutual  recognition 
agreement regarding the certificates issued in conformity with the agreement on the basis of 
the Common Criteria15. Moreover, a number of ICT certification initiatives currently exist or 
are  being  established  in  Member  States.  Even  if  important,  these  initiatives  bear  the  risk  of 
creating market fragmentation and interoperability issues. As a consequence, a company may 
need to undergo several certification procedures in various Member States to be able to offer 
its product on multiple markets. For example, a smart meter manufacturer who wants to sell 
its products in three Member States, e.g. Germany, France and UK, currently needs to comply 
with  three  different  certification  schemes.  These  are  the  Commercial  Product  Assurance 
(CPA)  in  the  UK,  Certification  de  Sécurité  de  Premier  Niveau  in  France  (CSPN)  and  a 
specific protection profile based on Common Criteria in Germany. 

This  situation  leads  to  higher  costs  and  constitutes  a  considerable  administrative  burden  for 
companies  operating  in  several  Member  States.  While  the  cost  of  certification  may  vary 
significantly  depending  on  the  product/service  concerned,  the  evaluation  assurance  level 
sought and/or other components, in general this tends to be quite considerable for businesses. 
For the BSI “Smart Meter Gateway” certificate, for example, the cost is more than EUR one 
million  (highest  level  of  test  and  assurance,  concerns  not  only  one  product  but  the  whole 
infrastructure around it as well). The cost for smart meters certification in the UK is almost 
EUR 150 000. In France, the cost is similar to the UK, about EUR 150 000 or more. 

Key  public  and  private  stakeholders  recognised  that  in  the  absence  of  an  EU-wide 
cybersecurity  certification  scheme,  companies  in  many  circumstances  have  to  be  certified 
individually in each Member State, thus leading to market fragmentation. Most importantly, 
in the absence of EU harmonisation legislation for ICT products and services, differences in 
cybersecurity  certification  standards  and  practices  in  Member  States  are  liable  to  create  28 
separate security markets in the EU in practice, each one with its own technical requirements, 
testing methodologies and cybersecurity certification procedures. These divergent approaches 
at  national  level  are  liable  to  cause  –  should  no  adequate  action  be  taken  at  EU  level  –  a 

14 

15 

DG  JRC  has  published  a  report  that  proposes  an  initial  set  of  common  European  requirements  and 
broad guidelines related to cybersecurity certification of IACS components. Available at: https://erncip-
project.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/introduction-european-iacs-components-cybersecurity-certification-
framework-iccf 
The Senior Officials Group on Information Systems Security (SOG-IS) includes 12 Member States plus 
Norway  and  has  developed  a  few  protection  profiles  on  a  limited  number  of  products  such  as  digital 
signature,  digital  tachograph  and  smart  cards.  Participants  work  together  to  coordinate  the 
standardisation  of  CC  protection  profiles  and  coordinate  the  development  of  protection  profiles. 
Member States often request SOG-IS certification for national public procurement tenders. 

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significant  setback  in  the  achievement  of  the  digital  single  market,  slowing  down  or 
preventing the connected positive effects in terms of growth and jobs. 

Building  on  the  above  developments,  the  proposed  Regulation  establishes  a  European 
Cybersecurity  Certification  Framework  (the  "Framework")  for  ICT  products  and  services 
and  specifies  the  essential  functions  and  tasks  of  ENISA  in  the  field  of  cybersecurity 
certification.  The  present  proposal  lays  down  an  overall  framework  of  rules  governing 
European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes.  The  proposal  does  not  introduce  directly 
operational  certification  schemes,  but  rather  create  a  system  (framework)  for 
the 
establishment  of  specific  certification  schemes  for  specific  ICT  products/services  (the 
"European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes").  The  creation  of  European  cybersecurity 
certification schemes in accordance with the Framework will allow certificates issued under 
those schemes to be valid and recognised across all Member States and to address the current 
market fragmentation.  

The general purpose of a European cybersecurity certification scheme is to attest that the ICT 
products and services that have been certified in accordance with such scheme comply with 
specified cybersecurity requirements. This for instance would include their ability to protect 
data (whether stored, transmitted or otherwise processed)  against  accidental  or  unauthorised 
storage,  processing,  access,  disclosure,  destruction,  accidental  loss  or  alteration.  EU 
cybersecurity  certification  schemes  would  make  use  of  existing  standards  in  relation  to  the 
technical requirements and evaluation procedures that the products need to comply with and 
would  not  develop  the  technical  standards  themselves16.  For  instance,  an  EU-wide 
certification for products such as smart cards, which are currently tested against international 
CC standards under the multilateral SOG-IS scheme (and described previously), would mean 
making this scheme valid throughout the EU. 

In  addition  to  outlining  a  specific  set  of  security  objectives  to  be  taken  into  account  in  the 
design of a specific European cybersecurity certification scheme, the proposal provides what 
the minimum content of such schemes should be. Such schemes will have to define, among 
others,  a  number  of  specific  elements  setting  out  the  scope  and  object  of  the  cybersecurity 
certification.  This  includes  the  identification  of  the  categories  of  products  and  services 
covered,  the  detailed  specification  of  the  cybersecurity  requirements  (for  example  by 
reference to the relevant standards or technical specifications), the specific evaluation criteria 
and methods, and the level of assurance they are intended to ensure (i.e. basic, substantial or 
high). 

European cybersecurity certification schemes will be prepared by ENISA, with the assistance, 
expert advice and close cooperation of the European Cybersecurity Certification Group (see 
below), and adopted by the Commission by means of implementing acts. When the need for a 
cybersecurity  certification  scheme  is  identified,  the  Commission  will  request  ENISA  to 
prepare a scheme for specific ICT products or services. ENISA will work on the scheme in 
close cooperation with national certification supervisory authorities represented in the Group. 
Member  States  and  the  Group  may  propose  to  the  Commission  that  it  requests  ENISA  to 
prepare a particular scheme.  

Certification  can  be  a  very  expensive  process, which  in  turn  could  lead  to  higher  prices  for 
customers  and  consumers.  The  need  to  certify  may  also  vary  significantly  according  to  the 
specific  context  of  use  of  the  products  and  services  and  fast  pace  of  technological  change. 

16 

In the case of European standards, this is done through the European standardisation organisations and 
endorsed  by  the  European  Commission  in  the  publication  in  the  Official  Journal  (see  Regulation 
1025/2012). 

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Recourse  to  European  cybersecurity  certification  should  therefore  remain  voluntary,  unless 
otherwise  provided  in  Union  legislation  laying  down  security  requirements  of  ICT  products 
and services.  

In order to ensure harmonisation and avoid fragmentation, national cybersecurity certification 
schemes or procedures for the ICT products and services covered by a European cybersecurity 
certification  scheme  will  cease  to  apply  from  the  date  established  in  the  implementing  act 
adopting  the  scheme.  Member  States  should  furthermore  not  introduce  new  national 
cybersecurity certification schemes for the ICT products and services covered by an existing 
European cybersecurity certification scheme. 

Once  a  European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme  is  adopted,  manufacturers  of  ICT 
products or providers of ICT services will be able to submit an application for certification of 
their  products  or  services  to  a  conformity  assessment  body  of  their  choice.  Conformity 
assessment bodies should be accredited by an accreditation body if they comply with certain 
specified requirements. Accreditation will be issued for a maximum of five years and may be 
renewed  on  the  same  conditions  provided  that  the  conformity  assessment  body  meets  the 
requirements.  Accreditation  bodies  will  revoke  an  accreditation  of  a  conformity  assessment 
body  where  the  conditions  for  the  accreditation  are  not,  or  are  no  longer,  met,  or  where 
actions taken by a conformity assessment body infringe this Regulation. 

Under the proposal, the monitoring, supervisory and enforcement tasks lie with the Member 
States.  Member  States  will  have  to  provide  for  one  certification  supervisory  authority.  This 
authority will be tasked with supervising the compliance of conformity assessment bodies, as 
well  as  of  certificates  issued  by  conformity  assessment  bodies  established  in  their  territory, 
with the requirements of this Regulation and the relevant European cybersecurity certification 
schemes. National certification supervisory authorities will be competent to handle complaints 
lodged by natural or legal persons in relation to certificates issued by conformity assessment 
bodies  established  in  their  territories.  To  the  appropriate  extent,  they  will  investigate  the 
subject matter of the complaint and inform the complainant of the progress and the outcome 
of the investigation within a reasonable time period. Moreover, they will cooperate with other 
certification  supervisory  authorities  or  other  public  authorities,  for  instance  by  sharing 
information on possible non-compliance of ICT products and services with the requirements 
of this Regulation or with the specific European cybersecurity certification schemes. 

Finally,  the  proposal  establishes  the  European  Cybersecurity  Certification  Group  (the 
'Group'), consisting of national certification supervisory authorities of all Member States. The 
main  task  of  the  Group  is  to  advise  the  Commission  on  issues  concerning  cybersecurity 
certification  policy  and  to  work  with  ENISA  on  the  development  of  draft  European 
cybersecurity  certification  schemes.  ENISA  will  assist  the  Commission  in  providing  the 
secretariat of the Group and maintain an updated public inventory of schemes approved under 
the  European  Cybersecurity  Certification  Framework.  ENISA  would  also  liaise  with 
standardisation  bodies  to  ensure  the appropriateness  of  standards  used  in  approved  schemes 
and to identify areas in need of cybersecurity standards. 

The  European  Cybersecurity  Certification  Framework  ('Framework')  will  provide  several 
benefits for citizens and for undertakings. In particular: 

 

The creation of EU-wide cybersecurity certification schemes for specific products or 
services  will  provide  companies  with  a  "one-stop-shop"  for  cybersecurity 
certification  in  the  EU.  Such  companies  will  be  able  to  certify  their  product  only 
once and obtain a certificate valid in all Member States. They will not be obliged to 
re-certify  their  products  under  different  national  certification  bodies.  This  will 
significantly  reduce  costs  for  companies,  facilitate  cross-border  operations  and 

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 

 

 

 

 

ultimately reduce and avoid a fragmentation of the internal market for the products 
concerned. 

The  Framework  establishes  the  primacy  of  European  cybersecurity  certification 
schemes  over  national  schemes:  under  this  rule,  the  adoption  of  a  European 
cybersecurity  certification  scheme  will  supersede  all  existing  parallel  national 
schemes  for  the  same  ICT  products  or  services  at  a  given  level  of  assurance.  This 
will  bring  further  clarity,  reducing  the  current  proliferation  of  overlapping  and 
possibly conflicting national cybersecurity certification schemes.  

The proposal supports and complements the implementation of the NIS Directive by 
providing  the  undertakings  subject  to  the  Directive  with  a  very  useful  tool  to 
demonstrate  compliance  with  the  NIS  requirements  in  the  whole  Union.  In 
developing  new  cybersecurity  certification  schemes,  the  Commission  and  ENISA 
will  pay  particular  attention  to  the  need  to  ensure  that  the  NIS  requirements  are 
reflected in the cybersecurity certification schemes.  

The proposal will support and facilitate the development of a European cybersecurity 
policy,  by  harmonising  the  conditions  and  substantive  requirements  for  the 
cybersecurity  certification  of  ICT  products  and  services  in  the  EU.  European 
cybersecurity  certification  schemes  will  refer  to  common  standards  or  criteria  of 
evaluation  and  testing  methodologies.  This  will  contribute  significantly,  albeit 
indirectly,  to  the  take-up  of  common  security  solutions  in  the  EU,  thereby  also 
removing barriers to the internal market. 

The  Framework  is  designed  in  such  a  way  to  ensure  the  necessary  flexibility  for 
cybersecurity certification schemes. Depending on the specific cybersecurity needs, a 
product  or  service  may  be  certified  against  higher  or  lower  levels  of  security. 
European cybersecurity certification schemes will be designed with this flexibility in 
mind  and  will  therefore  provide  for  different  levels  of  assurance  (i.e.  basic, 
substantial  or  high)  so  that  they  may  be  used  for  different  purposes  or  in  different 
contexts. 

All the above elements will make the cybersecurity certification more attractive for 
businesses as an effective means to communicate the level of cybersecurity assurance 
of  ICT  products  or  services.  To  the  extent  that  cybersecurity  certification  becomes 
less  expensive,  more  effective  and  commercially  attractive,  businesses  will  have 
greater  incentives  to  certify  their  products  against  cybersecurity  risks,  thereby 
contributing  to  the  spread  of  better  cybersecurity  practices  in  the  design  of  ICT 
products and services (cybersecurity by design). 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

Under  the  NIS  Directive,  operators  in  sectors  which  are  vital  for  our  economy  and  society, 
such  as  energy,  transport,  water,  banking,  financial  market  infrastructures,  healthcare  and 
digital infrastructure, as well as digital service providers (i.e. search engines, cloud computing 
services  and  online  marketplaces)  are  required  to  take  measures  to  appropriately  manage 
security  risks.  The  new  rules  of  this  proposal  complement,  and  ensure  consistency  with  the 
provisions of the NIS Directive, in order to pursue still further the cyber resilience of the EU 
through enhanced capabilities, cooperation, risk management and cyber awareness.  

Moreover,  the  rules  on  cybersecurity  certification  provide  an  essential  tool  for  companies 
subject  to  the  NIS  Directive,  as  they  will  be  able  to  certify  their  ICT  products  and  services 

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against  cybersecurity  risks  on  the  basis  of  cybersecurity  certification  schemes  valid  and 
recognised  throughout  the  EU.  They  will  also  be  complementary  to  security  requirements 
mentioned in the eIDAS Regulation17 and the Radio Equipment Directive18.  

Consistency with other Union policies 

• 
The  Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  (the  General  Data  Protection  Regulation,  "GDPR")19  lays 
down  provisions  to  establish  certification  mechanisms  and  data  protection  seals  and  marks  
for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with this Regulation of processing operations by 
controllers and processors. The present Regulation is without prejudice to the certification of 
data  processing  operations,  including  when  such  operations  are  embedded  in  products  and 
services, under the GDPR. 

The proposed Regulation will ensure compatibility with Regulation 765/2008 on accreditation 
and market surveillance requirements20 by referring to the rules of that framework on national 
accreditation bodies and conformity assessment bodies. As far as supervisory authorities are 
concerned,  the  proposed  Regulation  will  require  Member  States  to  designate  national 
certification  supervisory  authorities  with  responsibilities  for  supervision,  monitoring  and 
enforcement  of  the  rules.  Those  bodies  will  remain  separate  from  conformity  assessment 
bodies, as prescribed by Regulation 765/2008. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The legal basis for EU action is Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union (TFEU), which deals with the approximation of laws of the Member States in order to 
achieve  the  objectives  of  Article  26  TFEU,  namely,  the  proper  functioning  of  the  internal 
market. 

The  internal  market  legal  basis  for  establishing  ENISA  has  been  upheld  by  the  Court  of 
Justice  (in  case  C-217/04  United  Kingdom  vs.  European  Parliament  and  Council)  and  was 
further  confirmed  by  the  2013  Regulation  which  set  the  current  mandate  of  the  Agency.  In 
addition, activities that would reflect the objectives to increase cooperation and coordination 
among  Member  States  and  those  adding  EU  level  capabilities  to  complement  the  action  of 
Member States would fall under the category of "operational cooperation". This is specifically 
identified by the NIS Directive (for which Article 114 TFEU is the legal basis) as an objective 
to  be  pursued  in  the  context  of  the  CSIRTs  Network  where  "ENISA  shall  provide  the 
secretariat  and  shall  actively  support  the  cooperation"  (Article  12(2)).  In  particular,  Article 

17 

18 

19 

20 

Regulation  (EU)  No  910/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  July  2014  on 
electronic  identification  and  trust  services  for  electronic  transactions  in  the  internal  market  and 
repealing Directive 1999/93/EC. 
Directive  2014/53/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  April  2014  on  the 
harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio 
equipment and repealing Directive 1999/5/EC 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  27  April  2016  on  the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of 
such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, 
p. 1–88). 

Regulation  (EC)  No  765/2008  setting  out  the  requirements  for  accreditation  and  market  surveillance 
relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93. 

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12(3)(f) further outlines the identification of further forms of operational cooperation as task 
of the CSIRTs Network, including in relation to: (i) categories of risks and incidents; (ii) early 
warnings;  (iii)  mutual  assistance;  and  (iv)  principles  and  modalities  for  coordination,  when 
Member States respond to cross-border risks and incidents.  

 

The current fragmentation of the certification schemes for ICT products and services 
is  also  a  result  of  the  lack  of  a  common  legally  binding  and  effective  framework 
process  applicable  to  the  Member  States.  This  hinders  the  creation  of  an  internal 
market  for  ICT  products  and  services  and  hampers  the  competitiveness  of  the 
European  industry  in  this  sector.  The  present  proposal  aims  to  address  the  existing 
fragmentation  and  the  related  obstacles  to  the  internal  market  by  providing  a 
common  framework  for  the  establishment  of  cybersecurity  certification  schemes 
valid across the EU. 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The subsidiarity principle requires the assessment of the necessity and the added value of the 
EU action. The respect of subsidiarity in this area was already recognised when adopting the 
current ENISA Regulation21.   

Cybersecurity  is  an  issue  of  common  interest  of  the  Union.  The  interdependencies  between 
networks  and  information  systems  are  such  that  individual  actors  (public  and  private, 
including  citizens)  very  often  cannot  face  the  threats,  manage  the  risks  and  the  possible 
impacts of cyber incidents in isolation. On the one hand, the interdependencies across Member 
States,  including  with  regard  to  the  operation  of  critical  infrastructures  (energy,  transport, 
water, just to name a few) make public intervention at the European level not only beneficial, 
but  also  needed.  On  the  other  hand,  EU  intervention  can  bring  a  positive  "spill  over"  effect 
due to the sharing of good practices across Member States, which can result in an enhanced 
cybersecurity of the Union. 

In  summary,  in  the  current  context  and  looking  at  the  future  scenarios,  it  appears  that  to 
increase collective cyber-resilience of the Union individual actions by EU Member States 
and a fragmented approach to cybersecurity will not be sufficient.   

EU action is also deemed necessary to address the fragmentation of the current cybersecurity 
certification schemes. It would allow manufacturers to fully benefit from an internal market, 
with  significant  savings  regarding  testing  and  redesign  costs.  While  the  current  Senior 
Officials  Group  –  Information  Systems  Security  (SOG-IS)  Mutual  Recognition  Agreement 
(MRA) has for instance achieved important results in this respect, it has also shown important 
limitations  which  stand  in  the  way  of  its  suitability  in  being  able  to  provide  a  longer  term 
sustainable  solutions in fulfilling the full potential of the internal market. 

The added value of acting at EU level, in particular to enhance cooperation between Member 
States, but also between network and information security communities, has been recognised 
by the 2016 Council Conclusions22 and it also clearly emerges from the evaluation of ENISA.  

21 

22 

Regulation  (EU)  No  526/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  21  May  2013 
concerning the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) and repealing 
Regulation (EC) No 460/2004. 
Council Conclusions on Strengthening Europe's Cyber Resilience System and Fostering a Competitive 
and Innovative Cybersecurity Industry - 15 November 2016. 

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• 

Proportionality 

The proposed measures do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve its policy objectives. 
Furthermore, the scope of EU intervention does not impede any further national actions in the 
field of national security matters. EU action is therefore justified on grounds of subsidiarity 
and proportionality. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

The present proposal reviews Regulation (EU) No 526/2013 which sets the current mandate 
and  tasks  for  ENISA.  Furthermore,  given  ENISA's  important  role  in  the  setting  up  and 
management of an EU cybersecurity certification framework, ENISA's new mandate and the 
said Framework are best established under one single legal instrument, using the instrument 
of a Regulation.   

3. 

RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS 
AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 
The  Commission,  according  to  the  evaluation  roadmap23,  assessed  the  relevance,  impact, 
effectiveness,  efficiency,  coherence  and  the  added  value  of  the  Agency  with  regard  to  its 
performance, governance, internal organisational structure and working practices in the period 
2013-2016. The main findings can be summarised as follows (for more see the Staff Working 
Document on the subject, accompanying the impact assessment).  

 

 

23 
24 

Relevance:  In  a  context  of  technological  developments  and  evolving  threats  and 
considering  the  significant  need  for  increased  cybersecurity  in  the  EU,  ENISA's 
objectives  proved  to  be relevant. Indeed,  Member  States  and  EU  bodies  rely  on  its 
substantial expertise on cybersecurity matters. Moreover, capacities need to be built 
in  the  Member  States  to  better  understand  and  respond  to  threats,  and  stakeholders 
need  to  cooperate  across  thematic  fields  and  across  institutions.  Cybersecurity 
continues  to  be  a  key  political  priority  of  the  EU  to  which  ENISA  is  expected  to 
respond;  however,  ENISA’s  design  as  EU  agency  with  a  fixed-term  mandate:  (i) 
does not allow for long-term planning and sustainable support to Member States and 
EU  institutions;  (ii)  may  lead  to  a  legal  vacuum  as  the  provisions  of  the  NIS 
Directive  entrusting  ENISA  with  tasks  are  of  a  permanent  nature24;  (iii)  lacks 
coherence with a vision linking ENISA to an enhanced EU cybersecurity ecosystem. 

Effectiveness: ENISA overall met its objectives and implemented its tasks. It made a 
contribution  to  increased  network  and  information  security  in  Europe  through  its 
main  activities  (capacity  building,  provision  of  expertise,  community  building,  and 
support to policy). It, however, showed potential for improvement in relation to each.  
The  evaluation  concluded  that  ENISA  has  effectively  created  strong  and  trustful 
relationships with some of its stakeholders, notably with the Member States and the 
CSIRTs community. Interventions in the area of capacity building were perceived as 
effective  in  particular  for  less  resourced  Member  States.  Stimulating  broad 
cooperation has been one of the highlights, with stakeholders widely agreeing on the 

http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/roadmaps/docs/2017_cnect_002_evaluation_enisa_en.pdf 
Reference to Articles 7, 9, 11, 12, 19 of the Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems 
(NIS Directive). 

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 

 

 

positive  role  ENISA  plays  in  bringing  people  together.  However,  ENISA  faced 
difficulties  to  make  a  big  impact  in  the  vast  field  of  network  and  information 
security.  This  was  also  due  to  the  fact  it  had  fairly  limited  human  and  financial 
resources to meet a very broad mandate. The evaluation also concluded that ENISA 
partially met the objective of providing expertise, linked to the problems in recruiting 
experts (see also below in the efficiency section).  

Efficiency:  Despite  its  small  budget  –  among  the  lowest  compared  to  other  EU 
agencies  –  the  Agency  has  been  able  to  contribute  to  targeted  objectives,  showing 
overall efficiency in the use of its resources. The evaluation concluded that processes 
generally  were  efficient  and  a  clear  delineation  of  responsibilities  within  the 
organisation led to a good execution of the work. One of the main challenges to the 
Agency’s efficiency relates to ENISA’s difficulties in recruiting and retaining highly 
qualified experts. The findings show that this can be explained by a combination of 
factors, including the general difficulties across the public sector to compete with the 
private  sector  when  trying  to  hire  highly  specialised  experts,  the  type  of  contracts 
(fixed  term)  that  the  Agency  could  mostly  offer  and  the  somewhat  low  level  of 
attractiveness  related  to  ENISA's  location,  for  example  linked  to  difficulties 
encountered by spouses to find work. A location split between Athens and Heraklion 
required  additional  efforts  of  coordination  and  generated  additional  costs,  but  the 
move  to  Athens  in  2013  of  the  core  operations  department  increased  the  Agency's 
operational efficiency. 

Coherence:  ENISA’s  activities  have  been  generally  coherent  with  the  policies  and 
activities of its stakeholders, at national and EU level, but there is a need for a more 
coordinated  approach  to  cybersecurity  at  EU  level.  The  potential  for  cooperation 
between ENISA and other EU bodies has not been fully utilised. The evolution in the 
EU legal and policy landscape make the current mandate less coherent today. 

EU-added  value:  ENISA’s  added  value  lies  primarily  in  the  Agency’s  ability  to 
enhance cooperation, mainly between Member States but also with related network 
and  information  security  communities.  There  is  no  other  actor  at  EU  level  that 
supports  the  cooperation  of  the  same  variety  of  stakeholders  on  network  and 
information  security.  The  added  value  provided  by  the  Agency  varied according  to 
the diverging needs and resources of its stakeholders (e.g. large versus small Member 
States; Member States versus industry) and the need for the Agency to prioritise its 
activities  according  to  the  work  programme.  The  evaluation  concluded  that  a 
potential  discontinuation  of  ENISA  would  be  a  lost  opportunity  for  all  Member 
States. It will not be possible to ensure the same degree of community building and 
cooperation across the Member States in the field of cybersecurity. Without a more 
centralised  EU  agency  the  picture  would  be  more  fragmented,  with  bilateral  or 
regional cooperation stepping in to fill a void left by ENISA.  

With  specific  regard  to  ENISA’s  past  performances  and  future,  the  main  trends  emerging 
from the 2017 consultation are the following25: 

25 

90 stakeholders from 19 Member States replied to the consultation (88 responses and 2 position papers), 
including national authorities from 15 Member States including France, Italy, Ireland and Greece and 8 
umbrella  organisations  representing  a  significant  number  of  European  organisations,  for  example  the 
European Banking Federation, Digital Europe (representing the digital technology industry in Europe), 
European  Telecommunications  Network  Operators'  Association  (ETNO).  The  ENISA  public 
consultation  was  complemented  by  several  other  sources,  including;  (i)  in-depth  interviews,  with 

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 

 

 

The  overall  performance  of  ENISA  during  the  period  2013  to  2016  was  positively 
assessed by a majority of respondents (74%). A majority of respondents furthermore 
considered ENISA to be achieving its different objectives (at least 63% for each of 
the objectives). ENISA’s services and products are regularly (monthly or more often) 
used  by  almost  half  of  the  respondents  (46%)  and  are  appreciated  for  the  fact  that 
they stem from an EU-level body (83%) and for their quality (62%).  

Respondents  identified  a  number  of  gaps  and  challenges  for  the  future  of 
cybersecurity in the EU, in particular the top five (in a list of 16) were: cooperation 
across  Member  States;  capacity  to  prevent,  detect  and  resolve  large  scale  cyber-
attacks;  cooperation  across  Member  States  in  matters  related  to  cyber  security; 
cooperation  and  information  sharing  between  different  stakeholders,  including 
public-private cooperation; protection of critical infrastructure from cyber-attacks. 

A  large  majority  (88%)  of  respondents  considered  the  current  instruments  and 
mechanisms  available  at  EU  level  to  be  insufficient  or  only  partially  adequate  to 
address  these.  A  large  majority  of  respondents  (98%)  indicated  that  an  EU  body 
should  respond  to  these  needs  and  among  them  ENISA  was  considered  to  be  the 
right organisation to do so by 99%. 

Stakeholder consultations 

 

The Commission organised a public consultation for the review of ENISA between 
12 April and 5 July, 2016 and received 421 replies26. According to the results, 67.5 
% of respondents expressed the view that ENISA could play a role in establishing a 
harmonised framework for security certification of IT products and services. 
The results from the 2016 consultation on cybersecurity cPPP27 on the section on certification 
show that: 

 

 

 

26 

27 

50,4%  (e.g.  121  out  of  240)  of  respondents  do  not  know  whether  national 
certification schemes are mutually recognised across EU Member States. 25.8% (62 
out of 240) replied 'No', while 23.8% (57 out of 240) replied 'Yes'. 

37,9% of respondents (91 out of 240) think that existing certification schemes do not 
support the needs of Europe's industry. On the other hand, 17, 5% (42 out of 240) – 
mainly global companies operating on the European market - expressed the opposite 
view.  

49.6%  (119  out  of  240)  of  respondents  says  that  it  is  not  easy  to  demonstrate 
equivalence  between  standards,  certification  schemes,  and  labels.  37.9%  (91  out  of 
240) replied 'I do not know', while only 12,5% (30 out of 240) replied ‘Yes’. 

approximatively  50  key  players  in  the  cybersecurity  community;  (ii)  survey  to  the  CSIRTs  Network; 
(iii) survey to the ENISA Management Board, Executive Board, Permanent Stakeholder Group.  
162 contributions from citizens, 33 from civil society and consumer organisations; 186 from industry 
and 40 from public authorities, including competent authorities enforcing the ePrivacy Directive. 
240  stakeholders  from  national  public  administrations,  large  businesses,  SMEs,  microbusinesses  and 
research bodies responded to the section on certification. 

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Collection and use of expertise 

The Commission relied on the following external expert advice:  

 

 

Study on the Evaluation of ENISA (Ramboll/Carsa 2017; SMART no. 2016/0077), 

Study on ICT Security Certification and Labelling – Evidence gathering and impact 
assessment (PriceWaterhouseCoopers 2017; SMART no. 2016/0029). 

Impact assessment 

 

 

 

 

The  Impact  Assessment  report  on  this  initiative  identified  the  following  main 
problems to be addressed: 

Fragmentation of policies and approaches to cybersecurity across Member States; 

Dispersed  resources  and  fragmentation  of  approaches  to  cybersecurity  across  EU 
institutions, agencies and bodies; and 

Insufficient awareness and information of citizens and companies, coupled with the 
growing emergence of multiple national and sectoral certification schemes. 

The report assessed the following possible options with regard to ENISA's mandate: 

 

 

 

 

preservation  of  the  status  quo,  meaning  an  extended  mandate  still  limited  in  time 
(baseline option); 

expiry of ENISA’s current mandate without renewal and termination of ENISA (no 
policy intervention); 

a 'reformed ENISA'; and  

an EU cybersecurity agency with full operational capabilities.  

The report assessed the following possible options with regard to cybersecurity certification: 

 

 

 

 

no policy intervention (baseline option); 

non-legislative ("soft law") measures; 

an EU legislative act to create a mandatory system for all Member States based on 
the SOG-IS system; and  

an EU general ICT cybersecurity security certification framework. 

The  analysis  led  to  the  conclusion  that  a  "reformed  ENISA"  in  combination  with  an  EU 
general ICT cybersecurity certification framework is the preferred option.  

The preferred option has been assessed as the most effective for the EU to reach the identified 
objectives  of:  increasing  cybersecurity  capabilities,  preparedness,  cooperation,  awareness, 
transparency  and  avoiding  market  fragmentation.  It  has  also  been  assessed  as  the  most 
coherent with policy priorities of the EU Cybersecurity Strategy and related policies (e.g. NIS 
Directive), and the Digital Single Market Strategy. In addition, from the consultation process, 
it  emerged  that  the  preferred  option  enjoys  the  support  of  the  majority  of  stakeholders. 
Furthermore,  the  analysis  conducted  in  the  impact  assessment  showed  that  the  preferred 
option would reach the objectives through a reasonable employment of resources. 

The  Commission’s  Regulatory  Scrutiny  Board  delivered  initially  a  negative  opinion  on  24 
July,  then  a  positive  opinion  on  25  August  2017  upon  resubmission.  The  amended  Impact 
Assessment  report  included  additional  supporting  evidence,  the  final  conclusions  of  the 

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evaluation  of  ENISA  and  additional  explanations  on  the  policy  options  and  their  impact. 
Annex 1 to the final Impact Assessment report summarizes how the comments of the Board in 
the  second  opinion  have  been  addressed.  In  particular,  the  report  was  updated  to  present  in 
greater  detail  the  EU  cybersecurity  context,  including  the  measures  that  are  included  in  the 
Joint Communication "Resilience, Deterrence and Defence: Building strong cybersecurity for 
the  EU",  (JOIN(2017)  450)  and  have  a  special  relevance  for  ENISA:  the  EU  cybersecurity 
blueprint  and  the  European  Cybersecurity  Research  and  Competence  Centre,  to  which  the 
Agency would link its advisories on EU research needs.  

The  report  explains  how  the  reform  of  the  Agency,  including  the  new  tasks,  the  better 
conditions of employment and the structural cooperation with EU bodies in the field, would 
improve its attractiveness as employer and help tackle problems related to the recruitment of 
experts. Annex 6 to the report also presents a revised estimate of costs associated to the policy 
options  for  ENISA.  With  regard  to  the  topic  of  certification,  the  report  has  been  revised  to 
provide a more detailed explanation, including graphic presentation, of the preferred option, 
as well as to provide estimates on the costs for Member States and the Commission related to 
the  new  certification  framework.  The  rationale  for  the  choice  of  ENISA  as  key  actor  in  the 
framework has been further explained based on its expertise in the field and the fact that it is 
only EU level agency on cybersecurity. Finally, the sections on certification were reviewed to 
clarify  aspects  related  to  the  difference  between  the  current  SOG-IS  system,  the  benefits 
associated to the different policy options and explain that fact that the type of ICT product and 
service covered by a European certification scheme  will be defined in the approved scheme 
itself. 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

Not applicable 

Impact on fundamental rights 

Cybersecurity has an essential role in protecting the privacy and personal data of individuals 
in accordance with Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. In case 
of  cyber  incidents  the  privacy  and  the  protection  of  our  personal  data  are  clearly  exposed. 
Cybersecurity  is  thus  a necessary  condition  for  the respect of  privacy  and  confidentiality  of 
our personal data. Under this perspective, by aiming to reinforce cybersecurity in Europe, the 
proposal  provides  an  important  complement  to  the  existing  legislation  protecting  the 
fundamental right to privacy and personal data. Cybersecurity is also essential for protecting 
the  confidentiality  of  our  electronic communications  and  thus  for  exercising  the  freedom  of 
expression  and  information  and  other  related  rights,  such  as  the  freedom  of  thought, 
conscience and religion. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

See financial fiche 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

The  Commission  will  monitor  the  application  of  the  Regulation  and  submit  a  report  on  its 
evaluation  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Economic  and 

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Social  Committee  every  five  years.  These  reports  will  be  public  and  detail  the  effective 
application and enforcement of this Regulation. 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

Title  I  of  the  Regulation  contains  the  general  provisions:  the  subject  matter  (Article  1),  the 
definitions (Article 2), including references to relevant definitions from other EU instruments, 
such  as  the  Directive  (EU)  2016/1148  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council 
concerning measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems 
across the Union (NIS Directive), Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament 
and  of  the  Council  setting  out  the  requirements  for  accreditation  and  market  surveillance 
relating  to  the  marketing  of  products  and  repealing  Regulation  (EEC)  No  339/93,  and 
Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European 
standardisation. 

Title  II  of  the  Regulation  contains  the  key  provisions  related  to  the  ENISA,  the  EU 
Cybersecurity Agency.  

Chapter I under this Title outlines the mandate (Article 3), objectives (Article 4) and tasks of 
the Agency (Articles 5 to 11).  

Chapter  II  outlines  the  organisation  of  ENISA  and  includes  key  provisions  on  its  structure 
(Article  12).    It  addresses  the  composition,  voting  rules  and  functions  of  the  Management 
Board (Section 1, Articles 13 to 17), Executive Board (Section 2, Article 18) and Executive 
Director (Section 3, Article 19). It also includes provisions on the composition and role of the 
Permanent Stakeholders' Group (Section 4, Article 20). Last but not least, Section 5 under this 
Chapter details the operational rules for the Agency, including in relation to programming its 
operations, conflict of interest, transparency, confidentiality and access to documents (Articles 
21-25).  

Chapter III concerns the establishment and structure of the Agency's budget (Articles 26 and 
27),  as  well  as  rules  guiding  its  implementation  (Articles  28  and  29).  It  also  includes  the 
provisions  facilitating  the  combating  of  fraud,  corruption  and  other  unlawful  activities 
(Article 30).  

Chapter IV relates  to  the  staffing  of  the Agency. It includes general provisions on the Staff 
Regulations  and  the  Conditions  of  Employment  and  rules  guiding  privileges  and  immunity 
(Article 31 and 32). It also details the rules of engagement and appointment of the Executive 
Director of the Agency (Article 33). Last but not least, it includes the provisions guiding the 
use of seconded national experts or other staff not employed by the Agency (Article 34).   

Finally, Chapter V contains the general provisions related to the Agency. It outlines the legal 
status  (Article  35)  and  includes  provisions  regulating  the  issues  of  liability,  language 
arrangements, protection of personal data (Articles 36-38), as well as the security rules on the 
protection of classified and sensitive non-classified information (Article 40). It describes the 
rules  guiding  the  Agency's  cooperation  with  third  countries  and  international  organisations 
(Article  39).  Last  but  not  least,  it  also  contains  provisions  regarding  the  Agency's 
headquarters and operating conditions, as well as administrative control by the Ombudsman 
(Articles 41 and 42). 

Title III of the Regulation establishes the European cybersecurity certification framework (the 
"Framework")  for  ICT  products  and  services  as  lex  generalis  (Article  1).  It  defines  the 
general  purpose  of  European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes,  i.e.  to  ensure  that  ICT 
products  and  services  comply  with  specified  cybersecurity  requirements  as  regards  their 
ability  to  resist,  at  a  given  level  of  assurance,  action  that  compromise  the  availability, 

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authenticity, integrity or confidentiality of stored, transmitted or processed data or the related 
functions or of services (Article 43). Moreover, it lists the security objectives that European 
cybersecurity certification schemes shall aim to address (Article 45), such as among others the 
ability to  protect data against accidental or  unauthorised access or  disclosure, destruction  or 
alteration,  and  the  content  (i.e.  elements)  of  European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes, 
such as the detailed specification of their scope, the security objectives, evaluation criteria etc. 
(Article 47).  

Title  III  also  establishes  the  main  legal  effects  of  European  cybersecurity  certification 
schemes,  namely  (i)  the  obligation  to  implement  the  scheme  at  national  level  and  the 
voluntary  nature  of  certification;  (ii)  the  invalidating  effect  of  European  cybersecurity 
certification schemes on national schemes for the same products or services (Articles 48 and 
49).  

This  Title  further  lays  down  the  procedure  for  the  adoption  of  European  cybersecurity 
certification schemes and the respective roles of the Commission, ENISA and the European 
Cybersecurity Certification Group – the 'Group' -  (Article 44). Finally, this Title lays down 
the provisions governing conformity assessment bodies, including their requirements, powers 
and tasks, national certification supervisory authorities, as well as penalties. 

The Group is also established in this Title as an essential body consisting of representatives of 
national certification supervisory authorities whose main function is to work with ENISA on 
the  preparation  of  European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes  and  to  advise  the 
Commission on general or specific issues concerning cybersecurity certification policy.  

Title IV of the Regulation includes the final provisions describing the exercise of delegation, 
evaluation requirements, repeal and succession, as well as the entry into force.  

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2017/0225 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on ENISA, the "EU Cybersecurity Agency", and repealing Regulation (EU) 526/2013, 
and on Information and Communication Technology cybersecurity certification 
(''Cybersecurity Act'') 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 114 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee28, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions29,  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Network and information systems and telecommunications networks and services play 
a  vital  role  for  society  and  have  become  the  backbone  of  economic  growth. 
Information  and  communications  technology  underpins  the  complex  systems  which 
support societal activities, keep our economies running in key sectors such as health, 
energy, finance and transport, and in particular support the functioning of the internal 
market.  

The use of network and information systems by citizens, businesses and governments 
across  the  Union  is  now  pervasive.  Digitisation  and  connectivity  are  becoming  core 
features in an ever growing number of products and services and with the advent of the 
Internet  of  Things  (IoT)  millions,  if  not  billions,  of  connected  digital  devices  are 
expected  to  be  deployed  across  the  EU  during  the  next  decade.  While  an  increasing 
number  of  devices  are  connected  to  the  Internet,  security  and  resilience  are  not 
sufficiently built in by design, leading to insufficient cybersecurity. In this context, the 
limited  use  of  certification  leads  to  insufficient  information  for  organisational  and 
individual  users  about  the  cybersecurity  features  of  ICT  products  and  services, 
undermining trust in digital solutions. 

(3) 

Increased  digitisation  and  connectivity  lead  to  increased  cybersecurity  risks,  thus 
making  society  at  large  more  vulnerable  to  cyber  threats  and  exacerbating  dangers 
faced  by  individuals,  including  vulnerable  persons  such  as  children.  In  order  to 

28 
29 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 

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mitigate  this  risk  to  society,  all  necessary  actions  need  to  be  taken  to  improve 
cybersecurity  in  the  EU  to  better  protect  network  and  information  systems, 
telecommunication  networks,  digital  products,  services  and  devices  used  by  citizens, 
governments and business – from SMEs to operators of critical infrastructures – from 
cyber threats.  

Cyber-attacks are on the increase and  a connected economy and society that is more 
vulnerable  to  cyber  threats  and  attacks  requires  stronger  defences.    However,  while 
cyber-attacks are often cross-border, policy responses by cybersecurity authorities and 
law enforcement competences are predominantly national. Large-scale cyber incidents 
could disrupt the provision of essential services across the EU. This requires effective 
EU level response and crisis management, building upon dedicated policies and wider 
instruments  for  European  solidarity  and  mutual  assistance.  Moreover,  a  regular 
assessment of the state of cybersecurity and resilience in the Union, based on reliable 
Union  data,  as  well  as  systematic  forecast  of  future  developments,  challenges  and 
threats,  both  at  Union  and  global  level,  is  therefore  important  for  policy  makers, 
industry and users.  

In light of the increased cybersecurity challenges faced by the Union, there is a need 
for  a  comprehensive  set  of  measures  that  would  build  on  previous  Union  action  and 
foster  mutually  reinforcing  objectives.  These  include  the  need  to  further  increase 
capabilities and preparedness of Member States and businesses, as well as to improve 
cooperation and coordination across Member States and EU institutions, agencies and 
bodies.  Furthermore,  given  the  borderless  nature  of  cyber  threats,  there  is  a  need  to 
increase  capabilities  at  Union  level  that  could  complement  the  action  of  Member 
States, in particular in the case of large scale cross-border cyber incidents and crises. 
Additional efforts are also needed to increase awareness of citizens and businesses on 
cybersecurity issues. Moreover, the trust in the digital single market should be further 
improved by offering transparent information on the level of security of ICT products 
and  services.  This  can  be  facilitated  by  EU-wide  certification  providing  common 
cybersecurity requirements and evaluation criteria across national markets and sectors. 

In  2004,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EC)  No 
460/200430    establishing  ENISA  with  the  purpose  of  contributing  to  the  goals  of 
ensuring  a  high  level  of  network  and  information  security  within  the  Union,  and 
developing  a  culture  of  network  and  information  security  for  the  benefit  of  citizens, 
consumers,  enterprises  and  public administrations.  In  2008, the European Parliament 
and  the  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EC)  No  1007/200831  extending  the mandate  of 
the  Agency  until  March  2012.  Regulation  (EC)  No  580/201132    extended  further  the 
mandate  of  the  Agency  until  13  September  2013.  In  2013,  the  European  Parliament 
and  the  Council  adopted  Regulation  (EU)  No  526/201333  concerning  ENISA  and 

Regulation  (EC)  No  460/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  10  March  2004 
establishing the European Network and Information Security Agency (OJ L 77, 13.3.2004, p. 1).  
Regulation (EC) No 1007/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 
amending Regulation (EC) No 460/2004 establishing the European Network and Information Security 
Agency as regards its duration (OJ L 293, 31.10.2008, p. 1).  
Regulation (EU) No 580/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 amending 
Regulation (EC) No 460/2004 establishing the European Network and Information Security Agency as 
regards its duration (OJ L 165, 24.6.2011, p. 3).  
Regulation  (EU)  No  526/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  21  May  2013 
concerning the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) and repealing 
Regulation (EC) No 460/2004 (OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p.41). 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

30 

31 

32 

33 

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(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

repealing  Regulation  (EC)No  460/2004,  which  extended  the  Agency's  mandate  until 
June 2020.  

The Union has already taken important steps to ensure cybersecurity and increase trust 
in  digital  technologies. In  2013, an EU Cybersecurity Strategy was adopted to  guide 
the  Union's  policy  response  to  cybersecurity  threats  and  risks.  In  its  effort  to  better 
protect Europeans online, in 2016 the Union adopted the first legislative act in the area 
of  cybersecurity,  the  Directive  (EU)  2016/1148  concerning  measures  for  a  high 
common level of security of network and information  systems across  the Union (the 
"NIS  Directive").  The  NIS  Directive  put  in  place  requirements  concerning  national 
capabilities in  the  area of  cybersecurity,  established  the  first  mechanisms  to  enhance 
strategic  and  operational  cooperation  between  Member  States,  and  introduced 
obligations  concerning  security  measures  and  incident  notifications  across  sectors 
which  are  vital  for  economy  and  society  such  as  energy,  transport,  water,  banking, 
financial market infrastructures, healthcare, digital infrastructure as well as key digital 
service providers (search engines, cloud computing services and online marketplaces). 
A key role was attributed to ENISA in supporting implementation of this Directive. In 
addition,  effective  fight  against  cybercrime  is  an  important  priority  in  the  European 
Agenda  on  Security,  contributing  to  the  overall  aim  of  achieving  a  high  level  of 
cybersecurity. 

It is recognised that, since the adoption of the 2013 EU Cybersecurity Strategy and the 
last  revision  of  the  Agency's  mandate,  the  overall  policy  context  has  changed 
significantly, also in relation to a more uncertain and less secure global environment. 
In this context and within the framework of the new Union cybersecurity policy, it is 
necessary  to  review  the  mandate  of  ENISA  to  define  its  role  in  the  changed 
cybersecurity ecosystem and ensure it contributes effectively to the Union's response 
to  cybersecurity  challenges  emanating  from  this  radically  transformed  threat 
landscape,  for  which,  as  recognised  by  the  evaluation  of  the  Agency,  the  current 
mandate is not sufficient. 

The Agency established by this  Regulation should  succeed ENISA as  established  by 
Regulation (EU) No 526/2013. The Agency should carry out the tasks conferred on it 
by this Regulation and legal acts of the Union in the field of cybersecurity by, among 
other  things,  providing  expertise  and  advice  and  acting  as  a  Union  centre  of 
information and knowledge. It should promote the exchange of best practices between 
Member States and private stakeholders, offering policy suggestions to the European 
Commission and Member States, acting as a reference point for Union sectoral policy 
initiatives  with  regard  to  cybersecurity  matters,  fostering  operational  cooperation 
between the Member States and between the Member States and the EU institutions, 
agencies and bodies. 

(10)  Within  the  framework  of  Decision  2004/97/EC,  Euratom,  adopted  at  the  meeting  of 
the European Council on 13 December 2003, the representatives of the Member States 
decided that ENISA would have its seat in a town in Greece to be determined by the 
Greek Government. The Agency’s host Member State should ensure the best possible 
conditions  for  the  smooth  and  efficient  operation  of  the  Agency.  It  is  imperative  for 
the  proper  and  efficient  performance  of  its  tasks,  for  staff  recruitment  and  retention 
and to enhance the efficiency of networking activities that the Agency be based in an 
appropriate location,  among  other  things  providing  appropriate transport  connections 
and facilities for spouses and children accompanying members of staff of the Agency. 
The necessary arrangements should be laid down in an agreement between the Agency 

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and the host Member State concluded after obtaining the approval of the Management 
Board of the Agency. 

(11)  Given  the  increasing  cybersecurity  challenges  the  Union  is  facing,  the  financial  and 
human  resources  allocated to the Agency  should be increased to  reflect its enhanced 
role and tasks, and its critical position in the ecosystem of organisations defending the 
European digital ecosystem.  

(12)  The  Agency  should  develop  and  maintain  a  high  level  of  expertise  and  operate  as  a 
point of reference establishing trust and confidence in the single market by virtue of its 
independence, the quality of the advice it delivers and the information it disseminates, 
the  transparency  of  its  procedures  and  methods  of  operation,  and  its  diligence  in 
carrying out its tasks. The Agency should proactively contribute to national and Union 
efforts  while  carrying  out  its  tasks  in  full  cooperation  with  the  Union  institutions, 
bodies,  offices  and  agencies  and  the  Member  States.  In  addition,  the  Agency  should 
build on input from and cooperation with the private sector as well as other relevant 
stakeholders.  A  set  of  tasks  should  establish  how  the  Agency  is  to  accomplish  its 
objectives while allowing flexibility in its operations.  

(13)  The Agency should assist the Commission by means of advice, opinions and analyses 
on all the Union matters related to policy and law development, update and review in 
the  area  of  cybersecurity,  including  critical  infrastructure  protection  and  cyber 
resilience.  The  Agency  should  act  as  a  reference  point  of  advice  and  expertise  for 
Union sector-specific policy and law initiatives where matters related to cybersecurity 
are involved.  

(14)  The underlying task of the Agency is to promote the consistent implementation of the 
relevant  legal  framework,  in  particular  the  effective  implementation  of  the  NIS 
Directive, which is essential in order to increase cyber resilience. In view of the fast 
evolving  cybersecurity  threat  landscape,  it  is  clear  that  Member  States  must  be 
supported by more comprehensive, cross-policy approach to building cyber resilience.  

(15)  The  Agency  should  assist  the  Member  States  and  Union  institutions,  bodies,  offices 
and  agencies  in  their  efforts  to  build  and  enhance  capabilities  and  preparedness  to 
prevent, detect and respond to cybersecurity problems and incidents and in relation to 
the  security  of  network  and  information  systems.  In  particular,  the  Agency  should 
support  the  development  and  enhancement  of  national  CSIRTs,  with  a  view  of 
achieving a high common level of their maturity in the Union. The Agency should also 
assist with the development and update of Union and Member States strategies on the 
security of network and information systems, in particular on cybersecurity, promote 
their  dissemination  and  track  progress  of  their  implementation.  The  Agency  should 
also offer trainings and training material to public bodies, and where appropriate "train 
the trainers" with a view to assisting Member States in developing their own training 
capabilities.  

(16) 

 The Agency should assist the Cooperation Group established in the NIS Directive in 
the execution of its tasks, in particular by providing expertise, advice and facilitate the 
exchange  of  best  practices,  notably  with  regard  to  the  identification  of  operators  of 
to  cross-border 
essential  services  by  Member  States, 
dependencies, regarding risks and incidents. 

in  relation 

including 

(17)  With a view to stimulating cooperation between public and private sector and within 
the private sector, in particular to support the protection of the critical infrastructures, 
the  Agency  should  facilitate  the  establishment  of  sectoral  Information  Sharing  and 

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Analysis Centres (ISACs) by providing best practices and guidance on available tools, 
procedure, as well as providing guidance on how to address regulatory issues related 
to information sharing. 

(18)  The Agency should aggregate and analyse national reports from CSIRTs and CERT-
EU, setting up common rules, language and terminology for exchange of information. 
The Agency should also involve the private sector, within the framework of the NIS 
Directive which laid down the grounds for voluntary technical information exchange 
at the operational level with the creation of the CSIRTs Network.  

(19)  The  Agency  should  contribute  to  an  EU  level  response  in  case  of  large-scale  cross-
border  cybersecurity  incidents  and  crises.  This  function  should  include  gathering 
relevant  information  and  acting  as  facilitator  between  the  CSIRTs  Network  and  the 
technical  community  as  well  as  decision  makers  responsible  for  crisis  management. 
Furthermore,  the  Agency  could  support  the  handling  of  incidents  from  a  technical 
perspective by  facilitating  relevant technical  exchange  of  solutions  between  Member 
States and by providing input into public communications. The Agency should support 
the  process  by  testing  modalities  of  such  cooperation  through  yearly  cybersecurity 
exercises.   

(20)  To  perform  its  operational  tasks,  the  Agency  should  make  use  of  the  available 
expertise of CERT-EU through a structured cooperation, in close physical proximity. 
The  structured  cooperation  will  facilitate  the  necessary  synergies  and  build-up  of 
ENISA's  expertise.  Where  appropriate,  dedicated  arrangements  between  the  two 
organisations  should  be  established  to  define  the  practical  implementation  of  such 
cooperation. 

(21) 

In compliance with its operational tasks, the Agency should be able to provide support 
to  Member  States,  such  as  by  providing  advice  or  technical  assistance,  or  ensuring 
analyses of threats and incidents. The Commission's Recommendation on Coordinated 
Response  to  Large-Scale  Cybersecurity  Incidents  and  Crises  recommends  that 
Member States cooperate in good faith and share amongst themselves and with ENISA 
information  on  large-scale  cybersecurity  incidents  and  crises  without  undue  delay. 
Such information should further help ENISA in performing its operational tasks. 

(22)  As  part  of  the  regular  cooperation  at  technical  level  to  support  Union  situational 
awareness,  the  Agency  should  on  regular  basis  prepare  the  EU  Cybersecurity 
Technical  Situation  Report  on  incidents  and  threats,  based  on  publicly  available 
information, its own analysis and reports shared with it by Member States' CSIRTs (on 
a  voluntary  basis)  or  NIS  Directive  Single  Points  of  Contact,  European  Cybercrime 
Centre  (EC3)  at  Europol,  CERT-EU  and,  where  appropriate,  European  Union 
Intelligence Centre (INTCEN) at the European External Action Service (EEAS). The 
report  should  be  made  available  to  the  relevant  instances  of  the  Council,  the 
Commission,  the  High  Representative  of  the  Union  for  Foreign  Affairs  and  Security 
Policy and the CSIRTs Network.  

(23)  Ex-post  technical  enquiries  into  incidents  with  significant  impact  in  more  than  one 
Member  State  supported  or  undertaken  by  the  Agency  upon  request  or  with  the 
agreement  of  the  concerned  Member  States  should  be  focused  on  the  prevention  of 
future incidents and be carried out without prejudice to any judicial or administrative 
proceedings to apportion blame or liability.   

(24)  The  Member  States  concerned  should  provide  the  necessary  information  and 
assistance to the Agency, for the purposes of the enquiry without prejudice to Article 

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346  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  or  other  public  policy 
reasons.  

(25)  Member  States  may  invite  undertakings  concerned  by  the  incident  to  cooperate  by 
providing  necessary  information  and  assistance  to  the  Agency  without  prejudice  to 
their right to protect commercially sensitive information.  

(26)  To  understand  better the  challenges  in  the  field  of  cybersecurity,  and  with  a  view  to 
providing  strategic  long  term  advice  to  Member  States  and  Union  institutions,  the 
Agency  needs  to  analyse  current  and  emerging  risks.  For  that  purpose,  the  Agency 
should, in cooperation with Member States and, as appropriate, with statistical bodies 
and  others,  collect  relevant 
information  and  perform  analyses  of  emerging 
technologies  and  provide  topic-specific  assessments  on  expected  societal,  legal, 
economic  and  regulatory  impacts  of  technological  innovations  on  network  and 
information  security,  in  particular  cybersecurity.  The  Agency  should  furthermore 
support  Member  States  and  Union  institutions,  agencies  and  bodies  in  identifying 
emerging  trends  and  preventing  problems  related  to  cybersecurity,  by  performing 
analyses of threats and incidents.   

(27) 

In order to increase the resilience of the Union, the Agency should develop excellence 
on the subject of security of internet infrastructure and of the critical infrastructures, 
by  providing  advice,  guidance  and  best  practices.  With  a  view  to  ensuring  easier 
access to better structured information on cybersecurity risks and potential remedies, 
the Agency should develop and maintain the "information hub" of the Union, a one-
stop-shop portal providing the public with information on cybersecurity deriving from 
the EU and national institutions, agencies and bodies. 

(28)  The Agency should contribute towards raising the awareness of the public about risks 
related  to  cybersecurity  and  provide  guidance  on  good  practices  for  individual  users 
aimed  at  citizens  and  organisations.  The  Agency  should  also  contribute  to  promote 
best practices and solutions at the level of individuals and organisations by collecting 
and  analysing  publicly  available  information  regarding  significant  incidents,  and  by 
compiling  reports  with  a  view  to  providing  guidance  to  businesses  and  citizens  and 
improving  the  overall  level  of  preparedness  and  resilience.  The  Agency  should 
furthermore  organise,  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States  and  the  Union 
institutions,  bodies,  offices  and  agencies  regular  outreach  and  public  education 
campaigns  directed  to  end-users,  aiming  at  promoting  safer  individual  online 
behaviour  and  raising  awareness  of  potential  threats  in  cyberspace,  including 
cybercrimes such as phishing attacks, botnets, financial and banking fraud, as well as 
promoting basic authentication and data protection advice. The Agency should play a 
central role in accelerating end-user awareness on security of devices. 

(29) 

In order to support the businesses operating in the cybersecurity sector, as well as the 
users  of  cybersecurity  solutions,  the  Agency  should  develop  and  maintain  a  "market 
observatory" by performing regular analyses and dissemination of the main trends in 
the cybersecurity market, both on the demand and supply side. 

(30)  To ensure that it fully achieves its objectives, the Agency should liaise with relevant 
institutions,  agencies  and  bodies,  including  CERT-EU,  European  Cybercrime  Centre 
(EC3)  at  Europol,  European  Defence  Agency  (EDA),  European  Agency  for  the 
operational  management  of  large-scale  IT  systems  (eu-LISA),  European  Aviation 
Safety Agency (EASA) and any other EU Agency that is involved in cybersecurity. It 
should  also  liaise  with  authorities  dealing  with  data  protection  in  order  to  exchange 
know-how and best practices and provide advice on cybersecurity aspects that might 

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have an impact on their work. Representatives of national and Union law enforcement 
and  data  protection  authorities  should  be  eligible  to  be  represented  in  the  Agency’s 
Permanent  Stakeholders  Group.  In  liaising  with  law  enforcement  bodies  regarding 
network and information security aspects that might have an impact on their work, the 
Agency should respect existing channels of information and established networks.  

(31)  The Agency, as a Member which furthermore provides the Secretariat of the CSIRTs 
Network,  should  support  Member  State  CSIRTs  and  the  CERT-EU  in  operational 
cooperation further to all the relevant tasks of the CSIRTs Network, as defined by the 
NIS  Directive.  Furthermore,  the  Agency  should  promote  and  support  cooperation 
between  the  relevant  CSIRTs  in  the  event  of  incidents,  attacks  or  disruptions  of 
networks  or  infrastructure  managed  or  protected  by  the  CSIRTs  and  involving  or 
potentially  involving  at  least  two  CERTs  while  taking  due  account  of  the  Standard 
Operating Procedures of the CSIRTs Network. 

(32)  With  a  view  to  increasing  Union  preparedness  in  responding  to  cybersecurity 
incidents,  the  Agency  should  organise  yearly  cybersecurity  exercises  at  Union  level, 
and, at their request, support Member States and EU institutions, agencies and bodies 
in organising exercises.  

(33)  The  Agency  should  further  develop  and  maintain  its  expertise  on  cybersecurity 
certification  with  a  view  to  supporting  the  Union  policy  in  this  field.  The  Agency 
should  promote  the  uptake  of  cybersecurity  certification  within  the  Union,  including 
by contributing to the establishment and maintenance of a cybersecurity certification 
framework  at  Union  level,  with  a  view  to  increasing  transparency  of  cybersecurity 
assurance  of  ICT  products  and  services  and  thus  strengthening  trust  in  the  digital 
internal market. 

(34)  Efficient  cybersecurity  policies  should  be  based  on  well-developed  risk  assessment 
methods,  both  in  the  public  and  private  sector.  Risk  assessment  methods  are  used  at 
different  levels  with  no  common  practice  regarding  how  to  apply  them  efficiently. 
Promoting and developing best practices for risk assessment and for interoperable risk 
management  solutions  in  public-  and  private-sector  organisations  will  increase  the 
level  of  cybersecurity  in  the  Union.  To  this  end,  the  Agency  should  support 
cooperation  between  stakeholders  at  Union  level,  facilitating  their  efforts  relating  to 
the  establishment  and  take-up  of  European  and  international  standards  for  risk 
management  and  for  measurable  security  of  electronic  products,  systems,  networks 
and  services  which,  together  with  software,  comprise  the  network  and  information 
systems.  

(35)  The  Agency  should  encourage  Member  States  and  service  providers  to  raise  their 
general  security  standards  so  that  all  internet  users  can  take  the  necessary  steps  to 
ensure  their  own  personal  cybersecurity.  In  particular,  service  providers  and  product 
manufacturers  should  withdraw  or  recycle  products  and  services  that  do  not  meet 
cybersecurity  standards.  In  cooperation  with  competent  authorities,  ENISA  may 
disseminate  information  regarding  the  level  of  cybersecurity  of  the  products  and 
services  offered  in  the  internal  market,  and  issue  warnings  targeting  providers  and 
manufacturers and requiring them to improve the security, including cybersecurity, of 
their products and services.  

(36)  The  Agency  should  take  full  account  of  the  ongoing  research,  development  and 
technological  assessment  activities,  in  particular  those  carried  out  by  the  various 
Union research initiatives to advise the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies 

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and where relevant, the Member States, at their request, on research needs in the area 
of network and information security, in particular cybersecurity.  

(37)  Cybersecurity  problems  are  global  issues.  There  is  a  need  for  closer  international 
cooperation to improve security standards, including the definition of common norms 
of behaviour, and information sharing, promoting swifter international collaboration in 
response  to,  as  well  as  a  common  global  approach  to,  network  and  information 
security issues. To that end, the Agency should support further Union involvement and 
cooperation  with  third  countries  and  international  organisations  by  providing,  where 
appropriate,  the  necessary  expertise  and  analysis  to  the  relevant  Union  institutions, 
bodies, offices and agencies.  

(38)  The Agency should be able to respond to ad hoc requests for advice and assistance by 
Member  States  and  EU institutions,  agencies  and  bodies  falling  within  the  Agency’s 
objectives.  

(39) 

It is necessary to implement certain principles regarding the governance of the Agency 
in  order  to  comply  with  the  Joint  Statement  and  Common  Approach  agreed  upon  in 
July 2012 by the Inter-Institutional Working Group on EU decentralised agencies, the 
purpose of which statement and approach is to streamline the activities of agencies and 
improve their performance.  The Joint Statement  and Common Approach  should also 
be  reflected,  as  appropriate,  in  the  Agency’s  Work  Programmes,  evaluations  of  the 
Agency, and the Agency’s reporting and administrative practice.  

(40)  The Management Board, composed of the Member States and the Commission, should 
define the general direction of the Agency’s operations and ensure that it carries out its 
tasks in accordance with this Regulation. The Management Board should be entrusted 
with  the  powers  necessary  to  establish  the  budget,  verify  its  execution,  adopt  the 
appropriate  financial  rules,  establish  transparent  working  procedures  for  decision 
making by the Agency, adopt the Agency’s Single Programming Document, adopt its 
own rules of procedure, appoint the Executive Director and decide on the extension of 
the Executive Director’s term of office and on the termination thereof. 

(41) 

In order for the Agency to function properly and effectively, the Commission and the 
Member States should ensure that persons to be appointed to the Management Board 
have  appropriate  professional  expertise  and  experience  in  functional  areas.  The 
Commission and the Member States should also make efforts to limit the turnover of 
their  respective  Representatives  on  the  Management  Board  in  order  to  ensure 
continuity in its work.  

(42)  The  smooth  functioning  of  the  Agency  requires  that  its  Executive  Director  be 
appointed on grounds of merit and documented administrative and managerial skills, 
as well as competence and experience relevant for cybersecurity, and that the duties of 
the  Executive  Director  be  carried  out  with  complete  independence.  The  Executive 
Director  should  prepare  a  proposal  for  the  Agency’s  work  programme,  after  prior 
consultation  with  the  Commission,  and  take  all  necessary  steps  to  ensure  the  proper 
execution  of  the  work  programme  of  the  Agency.  The  Executive  Director  should 
prepare  an  annual  report  to  be  submitted  to  the Management  Board,  draw  up  a  draft 
statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the Agency, and implement the 
budget.  Furthermore,  the  Executive  Director  should  have  the  option  of  setting  up  ad 
hoc Working Groups to address specific matters, in particular of a scientific, technical, 
legal or socioeconomic nature. The Executive Director should ensure that the ad hoc 
Working  Groups’  members  are  selected  according  to  the  highest  standards  of 
expertise, taking due account of a representative balance, as appropriate according to 

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the  specific  issues  in  question,  between  the  public  administrations  of  the  Member 
States,  the  Union  institutions  and  the  private  sector,  including  industry,  users,  and 
academic experts in network and information security.  

(43)  The Executive Board should contribute to the effective functioning of the Management 
Board.  As  part  of  its  preparatory  work  related  to  Management  Board  decisions,  it 
should examine in detail relevant information and explore available options and offer 
advice and solutions to prepare relevant decisions of the Management Board.  

(44)  The  Agency  should  have  a  Permanent  Stakeholders’  Group  as  an  advisory  body,  to 
ensure  regular  dialogue  with  the  private  sector,  consumers’  organisations  and  other 
relevant stakeholders. The Permanent Stakeholders’ Group, set up by the Management 
Board  on  a  proposal  by  the  Executive  Director,  should  focus  on  issues  relevant  to 
stakeholders  and  bring  them  to  the  attention  of  the  Agency.  The  composition  of  the 
Permanent Stakeholders Group and the tasks assigned to this Group, to be consulted in 
particular 
the  draft  Work  Programme,  should  ensure  sufficient 
representation of stakeholders in the work of the Agency.  

regarding 

(45)  The Agency should have in place rules regarding the prevention and the management 
of  conflict  of  interest.  The  Agency  should  also  apply  the  relevant  Union  provisions 
concerning public access to documents as set out in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 
the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council34.  Processing  of  personal  data  by  the 
Agency should be subject to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard 
to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the 
free  movement  of  such  data35.  The  Agency  should  comply  with  the  provisions 
applicable  to  the  Union  institutions,  and  with  national  legislation  regarding  the 
handling  of  information,  in  particular  sensitive  non  classified  information  and  EU 
classified information.  

(46) 

In order to guarantee the full autonomy and independence of the Agency and to enable 
it  to  perform  additional  and  new  tasks,  including  unforeseen  emergency  tasks,  the 
Agency should be granted a sufficient and autonomous budget whose revenue comes 
primarily  from  a  contribution  from  the  Union  and  contributions  from  third  countries 
participating  in  the  Agency’s  work.  The  majority  of  the  Agency  staff  should  be 
directly engaged in the operational implementation of the Agency’s mandate. The host 
Member  State,  or  any  other  Member  State,  should  be  allowed  to  make  voluntary 
contributions to the revenue of the Agency. The Union’s budgetary procedure should 
remain applicable as far as any subsidies chargeable to the general budget of the Union 
are concerned. Moreover, the Court of Auditors should audit the Agency’s accounts to 
ensure transparency and accountability.  

(47)  Conformity  assessment  is  the  process  demonstrating  whether  specified  requirements 
relating to a product, process, service, system, person or body have been fulfilled. For 
the  purposes  of  this  Regulation,  certification  should  be  considered  as  a  type  of 
conformity  assessment  regarding  the  cybersecurity  features  of  a  product,  process, 
service,  system,  or  a  combination  of  those  ("ICT  products  and  services")  by  an 
independent  third  party,  other  than  the  product  manufacturer  or  service  provider. 

34 

35 

Regulation  (EC)  No  1049/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  30  May  2001 
regarding  public  access  to  European  Parliament,  Council  and  Commission  documents  (OJ  L  145, 
31.5.2001, p. 43).  
OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.  

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Certification cannot guarantee per se that certified ICT products and services are cyber 
secure. It is rather a procedure and technical methodology to attest that ICT products 
and  services  have  been  tested  and  that  they  comply  with  certain  cybersecurity 
requirements laid down elsewhere, for example as specified in technical standards. 

(48)  Cybersecurity certification plays an important role in  increasing trust  and security in 
ICT  products  and  services.  The  digital  single  market,  and  particularly  the  data 
economy and the Internet of Things, can only thrive if there is general public trust that 
such  products  and  services  provide  a  certain  level  of  cybersecurity  assurance. 
Connected  and  automated  cars,  electronic  medical  devices,  industrial  automation 
control  systems  or  smart  grids  are  only  some  examples  of  sectors  in  which 
certification  is  already  widely  used  or  is  likely  to  be  used  in  the  near  future.  The 
sectors  regulated  by  the  NIS  Directive  are  also  sectors  in  which  cybersecurity 
certification is critical.  

(49) 

In  the  2016  Communication  "Strengthening  Europe's  Cyber  Resilience  System  and 
Fostering  a  Competitive  and  Innovative  Cybersecurity  Industry",  the  Commission 
outlined the need for high-quality, affordable and interoperable cybersecurity products 
and  solutions.  The  supply  of  ICT  products  and  services  within  the  single  market 
remains very fragmented geographically. This is because the cybersecurity industry in 
Europe  has  developed  largely  on  the  basis  of  national  governmental  demand.  In 
addition,  the  lack  of  interoperable  solutions  (technical  standards),  practices  and  EU-
wide mechanisms of certification are among the other gaps affecting the single market 
in  cybersecurity. On the one hand, this makes it difficult for  European companies to 
compete at national, European and global level. On the other, it reduces the choice of 
viable  and  usable  cybersecurity  technologies  that  individuals  and  enterprises  have 
access  to.  Similarly,  in  the  Mid-Term  Review  on  the  implementation  of  the  Digital 
Single  Market  Strategy,  the  Commission  highlighted  the  need  for  safe  connected 
products  and  systems,  and  indicated  that  the  creation  of  a  European  ICT  security 
framework  setting  rules  on  how  to  organise  ICT  security  certification  in  the  Union 
could  both  preserve  trust  in  the  internet  and  tackle  the  current  fragmentation  of  the 
cybersecurity market. 

(50)  Currently, the cybersecurity certification of ICT products and services is used only to a 
limited  extent.  When  it  exists,  it  mostly  occurs  at  Member  State  level  or  in  the 
framework  of  industry  driven  schemes.  In  this  context,  a  certificate  issued  by  one 
national cybersecurity authority is not in principle recognised by other Member States. 
Companies  thus  may  have  to  certify  their  products  and  services  in  several  Member 
States  where  they  operate,  for  example  with  a  view  to  participating  in  national 
procurement procedures. Moreover, while new schemes are emerging, there seems to 
be no coherent and holistic approach with regard to horizontal cybersecurity issues, for 
instance  in  the  field  of  the  Internet  of  Things.  Existing  schemes  present  significant 
shortcomings  and  differences  in  terms  of  product  coverage,  levels  of  assurance, 
substantive criteria and actual utilisation.  

(51)  Some  efforts  have  been  made  in  the  past  in  order  to  lead  to  a  mutual  recognition  of 
certificates  in  Europe.  However,  they  have  been  only  partly  successful.  The  most 
important example in this regard is the Senior Officials Group – Information Systems 
Security  (SOG-IS)  Mutual  Recognition  Agreement  (MRA).  While  it  represents  the 
most important model for cooperation and mutual recognition in the field of security 
certification, SOG-IS MRA presents some significant shortcomings related to its high 
costs and limited scope. So far only a few protection profiles on digital products have 
been  developed,  such  as  digital  signature,  digital  tachograph  and  smart  cards.  Most 

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(52) 

importantly, SOG-IS includes only part of the Union Member States. This has limited 
the effectiveness of SOG-IS MRA from the point of view of the internal market.  

In view of the above, it is necessary to establish a European cybersecurity certification 
framework laying down the main horizontal requirements for European cybersecurity 
certification schemes to be developed and allowing certificates for ICT products and 
services  to  be  recognised  and  used  in  all  Member  States.  The  European  framework 
should have a twofold purpose: on the one hand, it should help increase trust in ICT 
products and services that have been certified according to such schemes. On the other 
hand,  it  should  avoid  the  multiplication  of  conflicting  or  overlapping  national 
cybersecurity  certifications  and  thus  reduce  costs  for  undertakings  operating  in  the 
digital  single  market.  The  schemes  should  be  non-discriminatory  and  based  on 
international  and  /  or  Union  standards,  unless  those  standards  are  ineffective  or 
inappropriate to fulfil the EU’s legitimate objectives in that regard. 

(53)  The Commission should be empowered to adopt European cybersecurity certification 
schemes  concerning  specific  groups  of  ICT  products  and  services.  These  schemes 
should be implemented and supervised by national certification supervisory authorities 
and  certificates  issued  within  these  schemes  should  be  valid  and  recognised 
throughout the Union. Certification schemes operated by the industry or other private 
organisations  should  fall  outside  the  scope  of  the  Regulation.  However,  the  bodies 
operating such schemes may propose to the Commission to consider such schemes as 
a basis for approving them as a European scheme. 

(54)  The  provisions  of  this  Regulation  should  be  without  prejudice  to  Union  legislation 
providing specific rules on certification of ICT products and services. In particular, the 
General  Data  Protection  Regulation  (GDPR) 
the 
establishment of certification mechanisms and data protection seals and marks for the 
purpose of demonstrating compliance with that Regulation of processing operations by 
controllers  and  processors.  Such  certification  mechanisms  and  data  protection  seals 
and marks should allow data subjects to quickly assess the level of data protection of 
relevant  products  and  services.  The  present  Regulation  is  without  prejudice  to  the 
certification  of  data  processing  operations,  including  when  such  operations  are 
embedded in products and services, under the GDPR. 

lays  down  provisions  for 

(55)  The purpose of European cybersecurity certification schemes should be to ensure that 
ICT  products  and  services  certified  under  such  a  scheme  comply  with  specified 
requirements.  Such  requirements  concern  the  ability  to  resist,  at  a  given  level  of 
assurance, actions that aim to compromise the availability, authenticity, integrity and 
confidentiality of stored or transmitted or processed data or the related functions of or 
services offered by, or accessible via those products, processes, services and systems 
within  the  meaning  of  this  Regulation.  It  is  not  possible  to  set  out  in  detail  in  this 
Regulation  the  cybersecurity  requirements  relating  to  all  ICT  products  and  services. 
ICT products and services and related cybersecurity needs are so diverse that it is very 
difficult to come up with general cybersecurity requirements valid across the board. It 
is,  therefore  necessary  to  adopt  a  broad  and  general  notion  of  cybersecurity  for  the 
purpose  of  certification,  complemented  by  a  set  of  specific  cybersecurity  objectives 
that need to be taken into account when designing European cybersecurity certification 
schemes. The modalities with which such objectives will be achieved in specific ICT 
products  and  services  should  then  be  further  specified  in  detail  at  the  level  of  the 
individual certification scheme adopted by the Commission, for example by reference 
to standards or technical specifications.  

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(56)  The  Commission  should  be  empowered  to  request  ENISA  to  prepare  candidate 
schemes  for  specific  ICT  products  or  services.  The  Commission,  based  on  the 
candidate  scheme  proposed  by  ENISA,  should  then  be  empowered  to  adopt  the 
European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme  by  means  of  implementing  acts.  Taking 
account  of  the  general  purpose  and  security  objectives  identified  in  this  Regulation, 
European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes  adopted  by  the  Commission  should 
specify  a  minimum  set  of  elements  concerning  the  subject-matter,  the  scope  and 
functioning  of  the  individual  scheme.  These  should  include  among  others  the  scope 
and object of the cybersecurity certification, including the categories of ICT products 
and services covered, the detailed specification of the cybersecurity requirements, for 
example by  reference to standards  or  technical  specifications, the specific evaluation 
criteria  and  evaluation  methods,  as  well  as  the  intended  level  of  assurance:  basic, 
substantial and/or high.  

(57)  Recourse  to  European  cybersecurity  certification  should  remain  voluntary,  unless 
otherwise  provided  in  Union  or  national  legislation.  However,  with  a  view  to 
achieving  the  objectives  of  this  Regulation  and  avoiding  the  fragmentation  of  the 
internal market, national cybersecurity certification schemes or procedures for the ICT 
products  and  services  covered  by  a  European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme 
should  cease  to  produce  effects  from  the  date  established  by  the  Commission  by 
means  of  the  implementing  act.  Moreover,  Member  States  should  not  introduce  new 
national  certification  schemes  providing  cybersecurity  certification  schemes  for  ICT 
products  and  services  already  covered  by  an  existing  European  cybersecurity 
certification scheme.  

(58)  Once a European cybersecurity certification scheme is adopted, manufacturers of ICT 
products  or  providers  of  ICT  services  should  be  able  to  submit  an  application  for 
certification  of  their  products  or  services  to  a  conformity  assessment  body  of  their 
choice. Conformity assessment bodies should be accredited by an accreditation body if 
they  comply  with  certain  specified  requirements  set  out  in  this  Regulation. 
Accreditation should be issued for a maximum of five years and may be renewed on 
the  same  conditions  provided  that  the  conformity  assessment  body  meets  the 
requirements.  Accreditation  bodies  should  revoke  an  accreditation  of  a  conformity 
assessment body where the conditions for the accreditation are not, or are no longer, 
met or where actions taken by a conformity assessment body infringe this Regulation. 

(59) 

It is necessary to require all Member States to designate one cybersecurity certification 
supervisory authority to supervise compliance of conformity assessment bodies and of 
certificates issued by conformity assessment bodies established in their territory with 
the  requirements  of  this  Regulation  and  of  the  relevant  cybersecurity  certification 
schemes.  National  certification  supervisory  authorities  should  handle  complaints 
lodged  by  natural  or  legal  persons  in  relation  to  certificates  issued  by  conformity 
assessment bodies established in their territories, investigate to the extent appropriate 
the subject matter of the complaint and inform the complainant of the progress and the 
outcome of the investigation within a reasonable time period. Moreover, they should 
cooperate  with  other  national  certification  supervisory  authorities  or  other  public 
authority,  including  by  sharing  information  on  possible  non-compliance  of  ICT 
products  and  services  with  the  requirements  of  this  Regulation  or  specific 
cybersecurity schemes. 

(60)  With  a  view  to  ensuring  the  consistent  application  of  the  European  cybersecurity 
certification  framework,  a  European  Cybersecurity  Certification  Group  (the  'Group') 
consisting of national  certification supervisory authorities should  be established. The 

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main tasks of the Group should be to advise and assist the Commission in its work to 
ensure  a  consistent  implementation  and  application  of  the  European  cybersecurity 
certification  framework;  to  assist  and  closely  cooperate  with  the  Agency  in  the 
preparation  of  candidate  cybersecurity  certification  schemes;  recommend  that  the 
Commission  request  the  Agency  to  prepare  a  candidate  European  cybersecurity 
certification  scheme;  and  to  adopt  opinions  addressed  to  the  Commission  relating  to 
the maintenance and review of existing European cybersecurity certifications schemes. 

(61) 

In  order  to  raise  awareness  and  facilitate  the  acceptance  of  future  EU  cyber  security 
schemes,  the  European  Commission  may  issue  general  or  sector-specific  cyber 
security guidelines, e.g. on  good cyber security practices or responsible cyber security 
behaviour  highlighting  the  positive  effect  of  the  use  of  certified  ICT  products  and 
services. 

(62)  The  Agency's  support  to  cybersecurity  certification  should  also  include  liaising  with 
the  Council  Security  Committee  and  the  relevant  national  body,  regarding  the 
cryptographic approval of products to be used in classified networks. 

(63) 

In  order to specify further the criteria for the accreditation of conformity  assessment 
bodies,  the  power  to  adopt  acts  in  accordance  with  Article  290  of  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning  of  the  European  Union  should  be  delegated  to  the  Commission.  The 
Commission  should  carry  out  appropriate  consultations  during  its  preparatory  work, 
including at expert level. Those consultations should be conducted in accordance with 
the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 
13  April  2016.  In  particular,  to  ensure  equal  participation  in  the  preparation  of 
delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council should receive all documents 
at  the  same  time  as  Member  States'  experts,  and  their  experts  systematically  have 
access  to  meetings  of  Commission  expert  groups  dealing  with  the  preparation  of 
delegated acts. 

(64) 

In  order  to  ensure  uniform  conditions  for  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation, 
implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission when provided for by 
this  Regulation.  Those  powers  should  be  exercised  in  accordance  with  Regulation 
(EU) No 182/2011. 

(65)  The examination procedure should be used for the adoption of implementing acts on 
European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes  for  ICT  products  and  services;  on 
modalities  of  carrying  enquiries  by  the  Agency;  as  well  as  on  the  circumstances, 
formats and procedures of notifications of accredited conformity assessment bodies by 
the national certification supervisory authorities to the Commission.  

(66)  The  Agency’s  operations  should  be  evaluated  independently.  The  evaluation  should 
have  regard  to  the  Agency  achieving  its  objectives,  its  working  practices  and  the 
relevance of its tasks. The evaluation should also assess the impact, effectiveness and 
efficiency of the European cybersecurity certification framework.  

(67)  Regulation (EU) No 526/2013 should be repealed.  

(68)  Since the objectives of this Regulation cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member 
States but can rather be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, 
in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on 
European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that 
Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that 
objective, 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

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TITLE I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 1 
Subject matter and scope  

With a view to ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market while aiming at a high 
level of cybersecurity, cyber resilience and trust within the Union, this Regulation: 

(a) 

(b) 

lays  down  the  objectives,  tasks  and  organisational  aspects  of  ENISA,  the  "EU 
Cybersecurity Agency", hereinafter ‘the Agency’; and 

lays down a framework for the establishment of European cybersecurity certification 
schemes  for  the  purpose  of  ensuring  an  adequate  level  of  cybersecurity  of  ICT 
products and services in the Union. Such framework shall apply without prejudice to 
specific  provisions  regarding  voluntary  or  mandatory  certification  in  other  Union 
acts. 

Article 2 
Definitions 

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

‘cybersecurity’ comprises all activities necessary to protect network and information 
systems, their users, and affected persons from cyber threats; 

‘network and information system’ means a system within the meaning of point (1) of 
Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/1148;  

 ‘national  strategy  on  the  security  of  network  and  information  systems’  means  a 
framework within the meaning of point (3) of Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/1148;  

‘operator of essential services’ means a public or private entity as defined in point (4) 
of Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/1148;  

‘digital  service  provider’  means  any  legal  person  that  provides  a  digital  service  as 
defined in point (6) of Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/1148 

‘incident’  means  any  event  as  defined  in  point  (7)  of  Article  4  of  Directive  (EU) 
2016/1148; 

‘incident  handling’  means  any  procedure  as  defined  in  point  (8)  of  Article  4  of 
Directive (EU) 2016/1148; 

‘cyber threat’ means any potential circumstance or event that may adversely impact 
network and information systems, their users and affected persons. 

‘European cybersecurity certification scheme’ means the comprehensive set of rules, 
technical requirements, standards and procedures defined at Union level applying to 
the certification of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products and 
services falling under the scope of that specific scheme;  

(10) 

‘European  cybersecurity  certificate’  means  a  document  issued  by  a  conformity 
assessment  body  attesting  that  a  given  ICT  product  or  service  fulfils  the  specific 
requirements laid down in a European cybersecurity certification scheme; 

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(11) 

(12) 

(13) 

(14) 

(15) 

(16) 

 ‘ICT product and service’ means any element or group of elements of network and 
information systems; 

‘accreditation’ means accreditation as defined in point (10), Article  2 of Regulation 
(EC) No 765/2008; 

‘national accreditation body’ means a national accreditation body as defined in point 
(11), Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008; 

‘conformity  assessment’  means  conformity  assessment  as  defined  in  point  (12), 
Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008; 

‘conformity assessment body’ means conformity assessment body as defined in point 
(13), Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008; 

‘standard’ means a standard as defined in point (1) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 
No 1025/2012. 

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TITLE II 
ENISA – the "EU Cybersecurity Agency" 

CHAPTER I 
MANDATE, OBJECTIVES AND TASKS 

Article 3 
Mandate 

The  Agency  shall  undertake  the  tasks  assigned  to  it  by  this  Regulation  for  the 
purpose of contributing to a high level of cybersecurity within the Union.  

The  Agency  shall  carry  out  tasks  conferred  upon  it  by  Union  acts  setting  out 
measures  for  approximating  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions  of 
the Member States which are related to cybersecurity.  

The  objectives  and  the  tasks  of  the  Agency  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the 
competences of the Member States regarding cybersecurity, and in any case, without 
prejudice to activities concerning public security, defence, national security and the 
activities of the state in areas of criminal law. 

Article 4 
Objectives 

The  Agency  shall  be  a  centre  of  expertise  on  cybersecurity  by  virtue  of  its 
independence,  the  scientific  and  technical  quality  of  the  advice  and  assistance  it 
delivers and the information it provides, the transparency of its operating procedures 
and methods of operation, and its diligence in carrying out its tasks.  

The  Agency  shall  assist  the  Union  institutions,  agencies  and  bodies,  as  well  as 
Member States, in developing and implementing policies related to cybersecurity. 

The  Agency  shall  support  capacity  building  and  preparedness  across  the  Union,  by 
assisting  the  Union,  Member  States  and  public  and  private stakeholders  in  order to 
increase the protection of their network and information systems, develop skills and 
competencies in the field of cybersecurity, and achieve cyber resilience.  

The  Agency  shall  promote  cooperation  and  coordination  at  Union  level  among 
Member  States,  Union  institutions,  agencies  and  bodies,  and  relevant  stakeholders, 
including the private sector, on matters related to cybersecurity.  

The  Agency  shall  increase  cybersecurity  capabilities  at  Union  level  in  order  to 
complement  the  action  of  Member  States  in  preventing  and  responding  to  cyber 
threats, notably in the event of cross-border incidents. 

The  Agency  shall  promote  the  use of  certification,  including  by  contributing to  the 
establishment and  maintenance of a cybersecurity certification framework  at Union 
level  in  accordance  with  Title  III  of  this  Regulation,  with  a  view  to  increasing 
transparency  of  cybersecurity  assurance  of  ICT  products  and  services  and  thus 
strengthen trust in the digital internal market.  

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

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7. 

The  Agency  shall  promote  a  high  level  of  awareness  of  citizens  and  businesses  on 
issues related to the cybersecurity.  

Article 5  
Tasks relating to the development and implementation of Union policy and law 

The Agency shall contribute to the development and implementation of Union policy and law, 
by: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

assisting  and  advising,  in  particular  by  providing  its  independent  opinion  and 
supplying preparatory work, on the development and review of Union policy and law 
in  the  area  of  cybersecurity,  as  well  as  sector-specific  policy  and  law  initiatives 
where matters related to cybersecurity are involved;  

assisting  Member  States  to  implement  consistently  the  Union  policy  and  law 
regarding  cybersecurity  notably  in  relation  to  Directive  (EU)  2016/1148,  including 
by  means  of  opinions,  guidelines,  advice  and  best  practices  on  topics  such  as  risk 
management,  incident  reporting  and  information  sharing,  as  well  as  facilitating  the 
exchange of best practices between competent authorities in this regard;  

contributing  to  the  work  of  the  Cooperation  Group  pursuant  to  Article  11  of 
Directive (EU) 2016/1148, by providing its expertise and assistance; 

supporting: 

(1) 

(2) 

the  development  and  implementation  of  Union  policy  in  the  area  of 
electronic  identity  and  trust  services,  in  particular  by  providing  advice 
and  technical  guidelines,  as  well  as  facilitating  the  exchange  of  best 
practices between competent authorities;  

the  promotion  of  an  enhanced 
level  of  security  of  electronic 
communications, including by providing expertise and advice, as well as 
facilitating the exchange of best practices between competent authorities; 

5. 

supporting  the  regular  review  of  Union  policy  activities  by  providing  an  annual 
report on the state of implementation of the respective legal framework regarding: 

(a)  Member States' incident notifications provided by the single point of contacts 
to  the  Cooperation  Group  pursuant  to  Article  10(3)  of  Directive  (EU) 
2016/1148; 

(b)  notifications  of  breach  of  security  and  loss  of  integrity  regarding  the  trust 
service providers, provided by the supervisory bodies to the Agency, pursuant 
to Article 19(3) of Regulation (EU) 910/2014; 

communications  networks  or  publicly 

(c)  notifications  of  breach  of  security  transmitted  by  the  undertakings  providing 
public 
electronic 
communications  services,  provided  by  the  competent  authorities  to  Agency, 
pursuant  to  Article  40  of  [Directive  establishing  the  European  Electronic 
Communications Code]. 

available 

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1. 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

2. 

Article 6  
Tasks relating to capacity building 

The Agency shall assist: 

Member States in their efforts to improve the prevention, detection and analysis, and 
the capacity to respond to, cybersecurity problems and incidents by providing them 
with the necessary knowledge and expertise;  

Union  institutions,  bodies,  offices  and  agencies,  in  their  efforts  to  improve  the 
prevention, detection  and analysis of and the capability  to respond to  cybersecurity 
problems  and  incidents  through  appropriate  support  for  the  CERT  for  the  Union 
institutions, agencies and bodies (CERT-EU); 

Member States, at  their request, in  developing  national Computer  Security Incident 
Response Teams (CSIRTs) pursuant to Article 9(5) of Directive (EU) 2016/1148; 

Member States, at their request, in developing national strategies on the security of 
network  and  information  systems,  pursuant  to  Article  7(2)  of  Directive  (EU) 
2016/1148;  the  Agency  shall  also  promote  dissemination  and  track  progress  of 
implementation  of  those  strategies  across  the  Union  in  order  to  promote  best 
practices; 

institutions 

in  developing  and  reviewing  Union  strategies  regarding 
Union 
cybersecurity,  promoting  their  dissemination  and  tracking  progress  of  their 
implementation;  

national  and  Union  CSIRTs  in  raising  the  level  of  their  capabilities,  including  by 
promoting dialogue and exchange of information, with a view to ensuring that, with 
regard  to  the  state  of  the  art,  each  CSIRT  meets  a  common  set  of  minimum 
capabilities and operates according to best practices; 

the  Member  States  by  organising  yearly  large-scale  cybersecurity  exercises  at  the 
Union level referred to in Article 7(6) and by making policy recommendations based 
on the evaluation process of the exercises and lessons learned from them;  

relevant  public  bodies  by  offering  trainings  regarding  cybersecurity,  where 
appropriate in cooperation with stakeholders; 

the Cooperation Group, by exchanging of best practices, in particular with regard to 
the  identification  of  operators  of  essential  services  by  Member  States,  including  in 
relation  to  cross-border  dependencies,  regarding  risks  and  incidents,  pursuant  to 
Article 11(3)(l) of Directive (EU) 2016/1148. 

The  Agency  shall  facilitate  the  establishment  of  and  continuously  support  sectoral 
Information Sharing and Analysis Centres (ISACs), in particular in the sectors listed 
in Annex II of Directive (EU) 2016/1148, by providing best practices and guidance 
on available tools, procedure, as well as on how to address regulatory issues related 
to information sharing. 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Article 7 
Tasks relating to operational cooperation at Union level 

The  Agency  shall  support  operational  cooperation  among  competent  public  bodies, 
and between stakeholders. 

The Agency shall  cooperate at operational level and establish synergies with Union 
institutions,  bodies,  offices  and  agencies,  including  the  CERT-EU,  those  services 
dealing  with  cybercrime  and  supervisory  authorities  dealing  with  the  protection  of 
privacy  and  personal  data,  with  a  view  to  addressing  issues  of  common  concern, 
including: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the exchange of know-how and best practices; 

the  provision  of  advice  and  guidelines  on  relevant  issues  related  to 
cybersecurity; 

the  establishment,  upon  consultation  of  the  Commission,  of  practical 
arrangements for the execution of specific tasks. 

The Agency shall provide the secretariat of the CSIRTs network, pursuant to Article 
12(2)  of  Directive  (EU)  2016/1148  and  shall  actively  facilitate  the  information 
sharing and the cooperation among its members. 

The  Agency  shall  contribute  to  the  operational  cooperation  within  the  CSIRTs 
Network providing support to Member States  by:  

(a) 

advising on how to improve their capabilities to prevent, detect and respond to 
incidents; 

(b)  providing,  at  their  request,  technical  assistance  in  case  of  incidents  having  a 

significant or substantial impact; 

(c) 

analysing vulnerabilities, artefacts and incidents. 

In performing these tasks, the Agency and CERT-EU shall engage in a structured cooperation 
in order to benefit from synergies, in particular regarding operational aspects. 

5. 

Upon a request by two or more Member States concerned, and with the sole purpose 
of providing advice for the prevention of future incidents, the Agency shall provide 
support  to  or  carry  out  an  ex-post  technical  enquiry  following  notifications  by 
affected undertakings of incidents having a significant or substantial impact pursuant 
to Directive (EU) 2016/1148. The Agency shall also carry out such an enquiry upon 
a  duly  justified  request  from  the  Commission  in  agreement  with  the  concerned 
Member States in case of such incidents affecting more than two Member States. 

The  scope  of  the  enquiry  and  the  procedure  to  be  followed  in  conducting  such 
enquiry  shall  be  agreed  by  the  concerned  Member  States  and  the  Agency  and  is 
without  prejudice  to  any  on-going  criminal  investigation  concerning  the  same 
incident. The enquiry shall be concluded by a final technical report compiled by the 
Agency  in  particular  on  the  basis  of  information  and  comments  provided  by  the 
concerned  Member  States  and  undertaking(s)  and  agreed  with  the  concerned 
Member States. A summary of the report focussing on the recommendations for the 
prevention of future incidents will be shared with the CSIRTs network. 

6. 

The  Agency  shall  organise  annual  cybersecurity  exercises  at  Union  level,  and 
support  Member  States  and  EU  institutions,  agencies  and  bodies  in  organising 
exercises  following  their  request(s).  Annual  exercises  at  Union  level  shall  include 

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7. 

8. 

technical,  operational  and  strategic  elements  and  help  to  prepare  the  cooperative 
response at the Union level to large-scale cross-border cybersecurity incidents. The 
Agency  shall  also  contribute  to  and  help  organise,  where  appropriate,  sectoral 
cybersecurity exercises together with relevant ISACs and permit ISACs to participate 
also to Union level cybersecurity exercises. 

The Agency shall prepare a regular EU Cybersecurity Technical Situation Report on 
incidents and threats based on open source information, its own analysis, and reports 
shared  by,  among  others:  Member  States'  CSIRTs  (on  a  voluntary  basis)  or  NIS 
Directive Single Points of Contact (in accordance with NIS Directive Article 14 (5)); 
European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) at Europol, CERT-EU.   

The  Agency  shall  contribute  to  develop  a  cooperative  response,  at  Union  and 
Member  States  level,  to  large-scale  cross-border  incidents  or  crises  related  to 
cybersecurity, mainly by:  

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

aggregating  reports  from  national  sources  with  a  view  to  contribute  to 
establishing common situational awareness;  

ensuring  the  efficient  flow  of  information  and  the  provision  of  escalation 
mechanisms  between  the  CSIRTs  Network  and  the  technical  and  political 
decision-makers at Union level; 

supporting the technical handling of an incident or crisis, including facilitating 
the sharing of technical solutions between Member States; 

supporting public communication around the incident or crisis; 

testing the cooperation plans to respond to such incidents or crises.  

Article 8 
Tasks relating to the market, cybersecurity certification, and standardisation   

The Agency shall: 

(a) 

support  and  promote  the  development  and  implementation  of  the  Union  policy  on 
cybersecurity certification of ICT products and services, as established in Title III of 
this Regulation, by: 

(1)  preparing  candidate  European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes  for 
ICT  products  and  services  in  accordance  with  Article  44  of  this 
Regulation; 

(2) 

(3) 

assisting  the  Commission  in  providing  the  secretariat  to  the  European 
Cybersecurity  Certification  Group  pursuant  to  Article  53  of  this 
Regulation;  

compiling  and  publishing  guidelines  and  developing  good  practices 
concerning the cybersecurity requirements of ICT products and services, 
in cooperation with national certification supervisory authorities and the 
industry; 

(b) 

facilitate  the establishment and take-up of European and international standards  for 
risk management and for the security of ICT products and services, as well as draw 
up,  in  collaboration  with  Member  States,  advice  and  guidelines  regarding  the 
technical areas related to the security requirements for operators of essential services 
and  digital  service  providers,  as  well  as  regarding  already  existing  standards, 

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including  Member  States'  national  standards,  pursuant  to  Article  19(2)  of  Directive 
(EU) 2016/1148;  

(c) 

perform  and  disseminate  regular  analyses  of  the  main  trends  in  the  cybersecurity 
market  both  on  the  demand  and  supply  side,  with  a  view  of  fostering  the 
cybersecurity market in the Union.   

Article 9 
Tasks relating to knowledge, information and awareness raising 

The Agency shall: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

perform  analyses  of  emerging  technologies  and  provide  topic-specific  assessments 
on  expected  societal,  legal,  economic  and  regulatory  impacts  of  technological 
innovations on cybersecurity;  

perform long-term strategic analyses of cybersecurity threats and incidents  in  order 
to identify emerging trends and help prevent problems related to cybersecurity; 

provide,  in  cooperation  with  experts  from  Member  States  authorities,  advice, 
guidance and best practices for the security of network and information systems, in 
particular  for  the  security  of  the  internet  infrastructure  and  those  infrastructures 
supporting the sectors listed in Annex II of Directive (EU) 2016/1148; 

pool,  organise  and  make  available  to  the  public,  through  a  dedicated  portal, 
information  on  cybersecurity,  provided  by  the  Union  institutions,  agencies  and 
bodies; 

raise  awareness  of  the  public  about  cybersecurity  risks,  and  provide  guidance  on 
good practices for individual users aimed at citizens and organisations;  

collect and analyse publicly available information regarding significant incidents and 
compiling  reports  with  a  view  to  providing  guidance  to  businesses  and  citizens 
across the Union; 

organise,  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States  and  Union  institutions,  bodies, 
offices  and  agencies  regular  outreach  campaigns  to  increase  cybersecurity  and  its 
visibility in the Union. 

Article 10 
Tasks relating to research and innovation 

In relation to research and innovation, the Agency shall: 

(a) 

(b) 

advise the Union and the Member States on research needs and priorities in the area 
of cybersecurity, with a view to enabling effective responses to current and emerging 
risks  and  threats,  including  with  respect  to  new  and  emerging  information  and 
communications technologies, and to using risk-prevention technologies effectively;  

participate,  where  the  Commission  has  delegated  the  relevant  powers  to  it,  in  the 
implementation  phase  of  research  and  innovation  funding  programmes  or  as  a 
beneficiary. 

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Article 11 
Tasks relating to international cooperation 

The  Agency  shall  contribute  to  the  Union’s  efforts  to  cooperate  with  third  countries  and 
international  organisations  to  promote  international  cooperation  on  issues  related  to 
cybersecurity, by: 

(a) 

(b) 

engaging,  where  appropriate,  as  an  observer  in  the  organisation  of  international 
exercises, and analysing and reporting to the Management Board on the outcome of 
such exercises;  

facilitating,  upon  the  request  of  the  Commission,  the  exchange  of  best  practices 
between the relevant international organisations; 

(c) 

providing, upon request, the Commission with expertise. 

CHAPTER II 
ORGANISATION OF THE AGENCY 

Article 12 
Structure 

The  administrative  and  management  structure  of  the  Agency  shall  be  composed  of  the 
following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

1. 

2. 

3. 

a Management Board which shall exercise the functions set out in Article 14; 

an Executive Board which shall exercise the functions set out in Article 18; 

an  Executive  Director  who  shall  exercise  the  responsibilities  set  out  in  Article  19; 
and 

a  Permanent  Stakeholders’  Group  which  shall  exercise  the  functions  set  out  in 
Article 20. 

SECTION 1 
MANAGEMENT BOARD 

Article 13 
Composition of the Management Board 

The  Management  Board  shall  be  composed  of  one  representative  of  each  Member 
State,  and  two  representatives  appointed  by  the  Commission.  All  representatives 
shall have voting rights.  

Each member of the Management Board shall have an alternate member to represent 
the member in their absence. 

Members of the Management Board and their alternates shall be appointed in light of 
their  knowledge  in  the  field  of  cybersecurity,  taking  into  account  relevant 
managerial,  administrative  and  budgetary  skills.  The  Commission  and  Member 
States  shall  make  efforts  to  limit  the  turnover  of  their  representatives  in  the 

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44 

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Management  Board,  in  order  to  ensure  continuity  of  that  Board’s  work.  The 
Commission  and  Member  States  shall  aim  to  achieve  a  balanced  representation 
between men and women on the Management Board. 

4. 

The term of office of members of the Management Board and of their alternates shall 
be four years. That term shall be renewable. 

Article 14 
Functions of the Management Board 

1. 

The Management Board shall: 

(a)  define the general direction of the operation of the Agency and shall also 
ensure that the Agency works in accordance with the rules and principles 
laid  down  in  this  Regulation.  It  shall  also  ensure  consistency  of  the 
Agency’s work with activities conducted by the Member States as well as 
at Union level; 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

(k) 

adopt  the  Agency’s  draft  single  programming  document  referred  to  in 
Article 21, before its submission to the Commission for its opinion; 

adopt, taking into account the Commission opinion, the Agency's single 
programming  document  by  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  members  and  in 
accordance with Article 17; 

adopt, by a majority of two-thirds of members, the annual budget of the 
Agency  and  exercise  other  functions  in  respect  of  the  Agency's  budget 
pursuant to Chapter III; 

assess  and  adopt  the  consolidated  annual  report  on  the  Agency’s 
activities  and  send  both  the  report  and  its  assessment  by  1  July  of  the 
following year, to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission 
and the Court  of Auditors. The annual report shall include the accounts 
and  describe  how  the  Agency  has  met  its  performance  indicators.  The 
annual report shall be made public; 

adopt  the  financial  rules  applicable  to  the  Agency  in  accordance  with 
Article 29; 

adopt an anti-fraud strategy that is proportionate to the fraud risks having 
regard to a cost-benefit analysis of the measures to be implemented; 

adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest in 
respect of its members; 

ensure adequate follow-up to the findings and recommendations resulting 
from  investigations  of  the  European  Anti-fraud  Office  (OLAF)  and  the 
various internal or external audit reports and evaluations; 

adopt its rules of procedure; 

in accordance with paragraph 2, exercise, with respect to the staff of the 
Agency,  the  powers  conferred  by  the  Staff  Regulations  of  Officials  on 
the  Appointing  Authority  and  the  Conditions  of  Employment  of  Other 
Servants  of  the  European  Union  on  the  Authority  Empowered  to 
Conclude a Contract of Employment ("the appointing authority powers");  

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45 

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(l) 

(m) 

(n) 

(o) 

adopt  rules  implementing  the  Staff  Regulations  and  the  Conditions  of 
Employment  of  Other  Servants  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
provided for in Article 110 of the Staff Regulations; 

 appoint  the  Executive  Director  and  where  relevant  extend  his  term  of 
office  or  remove  him  from  office  in  accordance  with  Article  33  of  this 
Regulation; 

appoint  an  Accounting  Officer,  who  may  be 
the  Commission's 
Accounting Officer, who shall be totally independent in the performance 
of his/her duties; 

take all decisions on the establishment of the Agency's internal structures 
and,  where  necessary,  their  modification,  taking  into  consideration  the 
to  sound  budgetary 
Agency's  activity  needs  and  having  regard 
management; 

(p) 

authorise  the  conclusion  of  working  arrangements  in  accordance  with 
Articles 7 and 39. 

2. 

3. 

The  Management  Board  shall  adopt,  in  accordance  with  Article  110  of  the  Staff 
Regulations, a decision based on Article 2(1) of the Staff Regulations and on Article 
6 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, delegating relevant appointing 
authority powers to the Executive Director and defining the conditions under which 
this  delegation  of  powers  can  be  suspended.  The  Executive  Director  shall  be 
authorised to sub-delegate those powers.  

Where exceptional circumstances so require, the Management Board may by way of 
a decision temporarily suspend the delegation of the appointing authority powers to 
the Executive Director and those sub-delegated by the latter and exercise them itself 
or delegate them to one of its members or to a staff member other than the Executive 
Director.   

Article 15 
Chairperson of the Management Board 

The  Management  Board  shall  elect  by  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  members  its  Chairperson 
and a Deputy Chairperson from among its members for a period of four years, which shall be 
renewable  once.  If,  however,  their  membership  of  the  Management  Board  ends  at  any  time 
during  their  term  of  office,  their  term  of  office  shall  automatically  expire  on  that  date.  The 
Deputy Chairperson shall ex officio replace the Chairperson if the latter is unable to attend to 
his or her duties. 

Article 16 
Meetings of the Management Board 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Meetings of the Management Board shall be convened by its Chairperson. 

The Management Board shall hold at least two ordinary meetings a year. It shall also 
hold  extraordinary  meetings  at the request  of the Chairperson, at the request  of the 
Commission, or at the request of at least a third of its members. 

The Executive Director shall take part, without voting rights, in the meetings of the 
Management Board. 

EN 

46 

  EN 

 
 
 
4. 

5. 

6. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Members of  the Permanent Stakeholder Group may take  part,  upon invitation  from 
the Chairperson, in the meetings of the Management Board, without voting rights. 

The members of the Management Board and their alternates may, subject to its Rules 
of Procedure, be assisted at the meetings by advisers or experts. 

The Agency shall provide the secretariat for the Management Board.  

Article 17 
Voting rules of the Management Board 

The Management Board shall take its decisions by majority of its members. 

A  two-thirds  majority  of  all  Management  Board  members  shall  be  required  for  the 
single programming document, the annual budget, the appointment, extension of the 
term of office or removal of the Executive Director. 

Each member shall have one vote. In the absence of a member, their alternate shall 
be entitled to exercise the right to vote.  

The Chairperson shall take part in the voting.  

The Executive Director shall not take part in the voting. 

The  Management  Board's  rules  of  procedures  shall  establish  more  detailed  voting 
arrangements, in particular the circumstances in which a member may act on behalf 
of another member.  

SECTION 2 
EXECUTIVE BOARD 

Article 18 
Executive Board 

The Management Board shall be assisted by an Executive Board. 

The Executive Board shall: 

(a)  prepare decisions to be adopted by the Management Board;  

(b) 

ensure,  together  with  the  Management  Board,  the  adequate  follow-up  to  the 
findings and recommendations stemming from investigations of OLAF and the 
various internal or external audit reports and evaluations; 

(c)  without prejudice to the responsibilities of the Executive Director, as set out in 
Article  19,  assist  and  advise  the  Executive  Director  in  implementing  the 
decisions  of  the  Management  Board  on  administrative  and  budgetary  matters 
pursuant to Article 19. 

The Executive Board shall be composed of five members appointed from among the 
members  of  the  Management  Board  amongst  whom  the  Chairperson  of  the 
Management  Board,  who  may  also  chair  the  Executive  Board,  and  one  of  the 
representatives  of  the  Commission.  The  Executive  Director  shall  take  part  in  the 
meetings of the Executive Board, but shall not have the right to vote. 

The term of office of the members of the Executive Board shall be four years.  That 
term shall be renewable. 

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5. 

6. 

7. 

1. 

2. 

The Executive Board shall meet at least once every three months. The chairperson of 
the Executive Board shall convene additional meetings at the request of its members. 

The  Management  Board  shall  lay  down  the  rules  of  procedure  of  the  Executive 
Board. 

When  necessary,  because  of  urgency,  the  Executive  Board  may  take  certain 
provisional  decisions  on  behalf  of  the  Management  Board,  in  particular  on 
administrative management matters, including the suspension of the delegation of the 
appointing authority powers and budgetary matters. 

SECTION 3 
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

Article 19 
Responsibilities of the Executive Director 

The Agency shall be managed by its Executive Director, who shall be independent in 
the performance of his or her duties. The Executive Director shall be accountable to 
the Management Board. 

The Executive Director shall report to the European Parliament on the performance 
of  his  or  her  duties  when  invited  to  do  so.  The  Council  may  invite  the  Executive 
Director to report on the performance of his or her duties. 

3. 

The Executive Director shall be responsible for: 

(a) 

(b) 

the day-to-day administration of the Agency; 

implementing the decisions adopted by the Management Board; 

(c)  preparing the draft single programming document and submitting it 
to the Management Board for approval before its submission to the 
Commission; 

(d) 

implementing  the  single  programming  document  and  reporting  to 
the Management Board thereon; 

(e)  preparing the consolidated annual report on the Agency’s activities 
and  presenting  it  to  the  Management  Board  for  assessment  and 
adoption; 

(f) 

preparing  an  action  plan  following-up  on  the  conclusions  of  the 
retrospective evaluations and reporting on progress every two years 
to the Commission; 

(g)  preparing  an  action  plan  following-up  conclusions  of  internal  or 
external  audit  reports,  as  well  as  investigations  by  the  European 
Ant-fraud Office (OLAF) and reporting on progress twice a year to 
the Commission and regularly to the Management Board; 

(h)  preparing draft financial rules applicable to the Agency; 

(i) 

(j) 

preparing the Agency's draft statement of estimates of revenue and 
expenditure and implementing its budget; 

protecting the financial interests of the Union by the application of 
preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal 

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activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by 
the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, 
by  effective,  proportionate  and  dissuasive  administrative  and 
financial penalties; 

(k)  preparing an anti-fraud strategy for the Agency and presenting it to 

the Management Board for approval; 

(l) 

developing  and  maintaining  contact  with  the  business  community 
and  consumers’  organisations  to  ensure  regular  dialogue  with 
relevant stakeholders; 

(m) 

 other tasks assigned to the Executive Director by this Regulation. 

Where  necessary  and  within  the  Agency’s  mandate,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
Agency's  objectives  and  tasks,  the  Executive  Director  may  set  up  ad  hoc  Working 
Groups  composed  of  experts,  including  from  the  Member  States’  competent 
authorities.  The  Management  Board  shall  be  informed  in  advance.  The  procedures 
regarding in particular the composition of the Working Groups, the appointment of 
the experts of the Working Groups by the Executive Director and the operation of the 
Working Groups shall be specified in the Agency’s internal rules of operation. 

The  Executive  Director  shall  decide  whether  it  is  necessary  to  locate  members  of 
staff  in  one  or  more  Member  States  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  Agency's 
tasks in an efficient and effective manner. Before deciding to establish a local office 
the  Executive  Director  shall  obtain  the  prior  consent  of  the  Commission,  the 
Management Board and the Member State(s) concerned. The decision shall specify 
the scope of the activities to be carried out at the local office in a manner that avoids 
unnecessary  costs  and  duplication  of  administrative  functions  of  the  Agency.  An 
agreement with the Member State(s) concerned shall be reached, where appropriate 
or required. 

SECTION 4 
PERMANENT STAKEHOLDERS' GROUP 

Article 20 
Permanent Stakeholders’ Group 

The Management Board, acting on a proposal by the Executive Director, shall set up 
a  Permanent  Stakeholders’  Group  composed  of  recognised  experts  representing  the 
relevant  stakeholders,  such  as 
industry,  providers  of  electronic 
the  ICT 
communications  networks  or  services  available  to  the  public,  consumer  groups, 
academic  experts  in  the  cybersecurity,  and  representatives  of  competent  authorities 
notified  under  [Directive  establishing  the  European  Electronic  Communications 
Code] as well as of law enforcement and data protection supervisory authorities. 

Procedures  for  the  Permanent  Stakeholders’  Group,  in  particular  regarding  the 
number,  composition,  and  the  appointment  of  its  members  by  the  Management 
Board, the proposal by the Executive Director and the operation of the Group, shall 
be specified in the Agency’s internal rules of operation and shall be made public. 

The Permanent Stakeholders’ Group shall be chaired by the Executive Director or by 
any person the Executive Director appoints on a case-by-case basis. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

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49 

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4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

36 

The  term  of  office  of  the  Permanent  Stakeholders’  Group’s members  shall  be  two-
and-a-half  years.  Members  of  the  Management  Board  may  not  be  members  of  the 
Permanent  Stakeholders’  Group.  Experts  from  the  Commission  and  the  Member 
States shall be entitled to be present at the meetings of the Permanent Stakeholders’ 
Group and to participate in its work. Representatives of other bodies deemed relevant 
by  the  Executive  Director,  who  are  not  members  of  the  Permanent  Stakeholders’ 
Group, may be invited to attend the meetings of the Permanent Stakeholders’ Group 
and to participate in its work. 

The  Permanent  Stakeholders’  Group  shall  advise  the  Agency  in  respect  of  the 
performance  of  its  activities.  It  shall  in  particular  advise  the  Executive  Director  on 
drawing  up  a  proposal  for  the  Agency’s  work  programme,  and  on  ensuring 
communication  with  the  relevant  stakeholders  on  all  issues  related  to  the  work 
programme. 

SECTION 5 
OPERATION 

Article 21 
Single Programming Document  

The Agency shall carry out its operations in accordance with a single programming 
document  containing  its  multiannual  and  annual  programming,  which  shall  include 
all of its planned activities. 

Each  year,  the  Executive  Director  shall  draw  up  a  draft  single  programming 
document  containing  multiannual  and  annual  programming  with  the  corresponding 
human  and  financial  resources  planning  in  accordance  with  Article  32  of 
Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  No  1271/201336  and  taking  into  account 
guidelines set by the Commission. 

By  30  November  each  year,  the  Management  Board  shall  adopt  the  single 
programming  document  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  and  forward  it  to  the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  no  later  than  31  January  of  the 
following year, as well as any later updated version of that document. 

The single programming document shall become definitive after final adoption of the 
general budget of the Union and, if necessary, shall be adjusted accordingly. 

The annual work programme shall comprise detailed objectives and expected results 
including performance indicators. It shall also contain a description of the actions to 
be financed and an indication of the financial and human resources allocated to each 
action, 
the  principles  of  activity-based  budgeting  and 
management.  The  annual  work  programme  shall  be  coherent  with  the  multi-annual 
work programme referred to in paragraph 7. It shall clearly indicate tasks that have 
been added, changed or deleted in comparison with the previous financial year. 

in  accordance  with 

Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  No 1271/2013  of  30 September  2013  on  the  framework 
financial  regulation  for  the  bodies  referred  to  in  Article  208  of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom) 
No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 328, 7.12.2013, p. 42)  

EN 

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6. 

7. 

8. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The  Management  Board  shall  amend  the  adopted  annual  work  programme  when  a 
new  task  is  given  to  the  Agency.  Any  substantial  amendment  to  the  annual  work 
programme  shall  be  adopted  by  the  same  procedure  as  the  initial  annual  work 
programme.  The  Management  Board  may  delegate  the  power  to  make  non-
substantial amendments to the annual work programme to the Executive Director.  

The  multi-annual  work  programme  shall  set  out  overall  strategic  programming 
including objectives, expected results and performance indicators. It shall also set out 
resource programming including multi-annual budget and staff.  

The  resource  programming  shall  be  updated  annually.  The  strategic  programming 
shall be  updated wherever appropriate and in  particular  where necessary to  address 
the outcome of the evaluation referred to in Article 56. 

Article 22 
Declaration of interest 

Members of  the Management  Board,  the Executive Director  and officials seconded 
by  Member  States  on  a  temporary  basis  shall  each  make  a  declaration  of 
commitments  and  a  declaration  indicating  the  absence  or  presence  of  any  direct  or 
indirect  interest  which  might  be  considered  prejudicial  to  their  independence.  The 
declarations  shall  be  accurate  and  complete,  made  annually  in  writing  and  updated 
whenever necessary. 

Members  of  the  Management  Board,  the  Executive  Director,  and  external  experts 
participating  in  ad  hoc  Working  Groups  shall  each  accurately  and  completely 
declare,  at  the  latest  at  the  start  of  each  meeting,  any  interest  which  might  be 
considered prejudicial to  their  independence in  relation  to  the  items  on  the  agenda, 
and shall abstain from participating in the discussion of and voting upon such points. 

The  Agency  shall  lay  down,  in  its  internal  rules  of  operation,  the  practical 
arrangements for the rules on declarations of interest referred to in paragraphs 1 and 
2. 

Article 23 
Transparency 

The  Agency  shall  carry  out  its  activities  with  a  high  level  of  transparency  and  in 
accordance with Article 25. 

The  Agency  shall  ensure  that  the  public  and  any  interested  parties  are  given 
appropriate,  objective,  reliable  and  easily  accessible  information,  in  particular  with 
regard to the results of its work. It shall also make public the declarations of interest 
made in accordance with Article 22. 

The  Management  Board,  acting  on  a  proposal  from  the  Executive  Director,  may 
authorise  interested  parties  to  observe  the  proceedings  of  some  of  the  Agency’s 
activities. 

The  Agency  shall  lay  down,  in  its  internal  rules  of  operation,  the  practical 
arrangements for implementing the transparency rules referred to in paragraphs 1 and 
2. 

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Article 24 
Confidentiality 

Without  prejudice  to  Article  25,  the  Agency  shall  not  divulge  to  third  parties 
information that it processes or receives in relation to which a reasoned request for 
confidential treatment, in whole or in part, has been made. 

Members  of  the  Management  Board,  the  Executive  Director,  the  members  of  the 
Permanent  Stakeholders  Group,  external  experts  participating  in  ad  hoc  Working 
Groups,  and  members  of  the  staff  of  the  Agency  including  officials  seconded  by 
Member  States  on  a  temporary  basis  shall  comply  with  the  confidentiality 
requirements  under  Article  339  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European 
Union (TFEU), even after their duties have ceased. 

The  Agency  shall  lay  down,  in  its  internal  rules  of  operation,  the  practical 
arrangements  for  implementing  the  confidentiality rules  referred to  in  paragraphs 1 
and 2. 

If required for the performance of the Agency’s tasks, the Management Board shall 
decide  to  allow  the  Agency  to  handle  classified  information.  In  that  case  the 
Management Board shall, in agreement with the Commission services, adopt internal 
rules of operation applying the security principles set out in Commission Decisions 
(EU, Euratom) 2015/44337 and 2015/44438. Those rules shall include provisions for 
the exchange, processing and storage of classified information. 

Article 25 
Access to documents 

Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 shall apply to documents held by the Agency. 

The Management Board shall adopt arrangements for implementing Regulation (EC) 
No 1049/2001 within six months of the establishment of the Agency. 

Decisions  taken  by  the  Agency  pursuant  to  Article  8  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 1049/2001  may  be  the  subject  of  a  complaint  to  the  Ombudsman  under  Article 
228 TFEU or of an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union under 
Article 263 TFEU. 

CHAPTER III 
ESTABLISHMENT AND STRUCTURE OF THE BUDGET 

Article 26 
Establishment of the budget 

Each year, the Executive Director shall draw up a draft statement of estimates of the 
Agency’s revenue and expenditure for the following financial year, and shall forward 

Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 of 13 March 2015 on Security in the Commission (OJ L 
72, 17.3.2015, p. 41). 
Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 of 13 March 2015 on the security rules for protecting 
EU classified information  (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, p. 53). 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

37 

38 

EN 

52 

  EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

it to the Management Board, together with a draft establishment plan. Revenue and 
expenditure shall be in balance. 

Each  year,  the  Management  Board  shall,  on  the  basis  of  the  draft  statement  of 
estimates of revenue and expenditure referred to in paragraph 1, produce a statement 
of  estimates  of  revenue  and  expenditure  for  the Agency  for  the  following  financial 
year. 

The  Management  Board  shall,  by  31  January  each  year,  send  the  statement  of 
estimates  referred  to  in  paragraph  2,  which  shall  be  part  of  the  draft  single 
programming  document,  to  the  Commission  and  the  third  countries  with  which  the 
Union has concluded agreements in accordance with Article 39. 

On the basis of that statement of estimates, the Commission shall enter in the draft 
budget of the Union the estimates it deems necessary for the establishment plan and 
the  amount  of  the  contribution  to  be  charged  to  the  general  budget,  which  it  shall 
submit to  the European Parliament  and the Council in  accordance  with Article 313 
and 314 TFEU. 

The European Parliament and the Council shall authorise the appropriations for the 
contribution to the Agency. 

The European Parliament and the Council shall adopt the establishment plan for the 
Agency. 

Together with the single programming document, the Management Board shall adopt 
the  Agency’s  budget.  It  shall  become  final  following  definitive  adoption  of  the 
general budget of the Union. Where appropriate, the Management Board shall adjust 
the  Agency’s  budget  and  single  programming  document  in  accordance  with  the 
general budget of the Union. 

1. 

Without prejudice to other resources, the Agency's revenue shall be composed of: 

Article 27 
Structure of the budget 

(a) 

(b) 

a contribution from the Union budget; 

revenue assigned to specific items of expenditure in accordance with its 
financial rules referred to in Article 29; 

(c)  Union funding in the form of delegation agreements or ad hoc grants in 
accordance with its financial rules referred to in Article 29 and with the 
provisions  of  the  relevant  instruments  supporting  the  policies  of  the 
Union; 

(d) 

(e) 

contributions  from  third  countries  participating  in  the  work  of  the 
Agency as provided for in Article 39; 

any  voluntary  contributions  from  Member  States  in  money  or  in  kind; 
Member  States  that  provide  voluntary  contributions  may  not  claim  any 
specific right or service as a result thereof. 

2. 

The  expenditure  of  the  Agency  shall  include  staff,  administrative  and  technical 
support,  infrastructure  and  operational  expenses,  and  expenses  resulting  from 
contracts entered into with third parties. 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

Article 28 
Implementation of the budget 

The Executive Director shall be responsible for the implementation of the Agency’s 
budget. 

The Commission’s internal auditor shall exercise the same powers over the Agency 
as over Commission departments. 

By  1  March  following  each  financial  year  (1  March  of  year  N  + 1),  the  Agency’s 
accounting  officer  shall  send  the  provisional  accounts  to  the  Commission’s 
accounting officer and to the Court of Auditors. 

Upon  receipts  of  the  Court  of  Auditors'  observations  on  the  Agency's  provisional 
accounts, the Agency's accounting officer shall draw up the Agency's final accounts 
under his or her responsibility.  

The Executive Director shall submit the final accounts to the Management Board for 
an opinion. 

The  Executive  Director  shall  send,  by  31  March  of  year  N  + 1,  the  report  on  the 
budgetary  and  financial  management  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the 
Commission and the Court of Auditors. 

The accounting officer shall, by 1 July of year N + 1, transmit the final accounts to 
the European Parliament, the Council, the accounting officer of the Commission and 
the Court of Auditors, together with the Management Board's opinion. 

At  the  same  date  as  the  transmission  of  his  or  her  final  accounts,  the  accounting 
officer shall also send to the Court of Auditors a representation letter covering those 
final accounts, with a copy to the accounting officer of the Commission. 

The  Executive  Director  shall  publish  the  final  accounts  by  15  November  of  the 
following year. 

The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to its observations by 
30  September  of  year  N  + 1  and  shall  also  send  a  copy  of  that  reply  to  the 
Management Board and to the Commission. 

The  Executive  Director  shall  submit  to  the  European  Parliament,  at  the  latter’s 
request,  all  the  information  necessary  for  the  smooth  application  of  the  discharge 
procedure  for  the  financial  year  in  question,  as  laid  down  in  Article  165(3)  of  the 
Financial Regulation. 

The  European  Parliament,  acting  on  a  recommendation  from  the  Council,  shall, 
before 15 May of year N + 2, give a discharge to the Executive Director in respect of 
the implementation of the budget for the year N. 

Article 29 
Financial Rules 

The financial rules applicable to the Agency shall be adopted by the Management Board after 
consulting  the  Commission.  They  shall  not  depart  from  Regulation  (EU)  1271/2013  unless 
such a departure is specifically required for the Agency's operation and the Commission has 
given its prior consent.  

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Article 30 
Combating fraud 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

In order to facilitate the combating of fraud, corruption and other unlawful activities 
under Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council39, the Agency shall, within six months from the day it becomes operational, 
accede  to  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  25  May,  1999  concerning  internal 
investigations  by  the  European  Anti-fraud  Office  (OLAF)  and  shall  adopt  the 
appropriate  provisions  applicable  to  all  the  employees  of  the  Agency,  using  the 
template set out in the Annex to that Agreement. 

The Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and 
on  the  spot,  over  all  grant  beneficiaries,  contractors  and  subcontractors  who  have 
received Union funds from the Agency. 

OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  and  procedures  laid  down  in  Regulation  (EU, 
Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council 
Regulation  (Euratom,  EC)  No 2185/9640  of  11  November  1996  concerning  on-the-
spot  checks  and  inspections  carried  out  by  the  Commission  in  order  to  protect  the 
Union’  financial  interests  against  fraud  and  other  irregularities  with  a  view  to 
establishing  whether  there  has  been  fraud,  corruption  or  any  other  illegal  activity 
affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant or a contract 
funded by the Agency. 

Without  prejudice  to  paragraphs  1,  2  and  3,  cooperation  agreements  with  third 
countries  and  international  organisations,  contracts,  grant  agreements  and  grant 
decisions of the Agency shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Court of 
Auditors  and  OLAF  to  conduct  such  audits  and  investigations,  according  to  their 
respective competences. 

CHAPTER IV 
AGENCY STAFF  

Article 31 
General provisions 

The  Staff  Regulations  and  the  Conditions  of  Employment  of  Other  Servants  and  the  rules 
adopted  by  agreement  between  the  Union  institutions  for  giving  effect  to  those  Staff 
Regulations shall apply to the staff of the Agency. 

39 

40 

Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No 883/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of 
11 September  2013  concerning  investigations  conducted  by  the  European  Anti-Fraud  Office  (OLAF) 
and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)  No 1073/1999  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and 
Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1).  
Council  Regulation  (Euratom,  EC)  No  2185/96  of  11  November  1996  concerning  on-the-spot  checks 
and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial 
interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2). 

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Article 32 
Privileges and immunity 

Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union annexed to the Treaty 
on European Union and to the TFEU shall apply to the Agency and its staff. 

Article 33 
Executive Director 

The Executive Director shall be engaged as a temporary agent of the Agency under 
Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. 

The Executive Director shall be appointed by the Management Board from a list of 
candidates proposed by the Commission, following an open and transparent selection 
procedure. 

For  the  purpose  of  concluding  the  contract  of  the  Executive  Director,  the  Agency 
shall be represented by the Chairperson of the Management Board. 

Before  appointment,  the  candidate  selected  by  the  Management  Board  shall  be 
invited  to  make  a  statement  before  the  relevant  committee  of  the  European 
Parliament and to answer Members’ questions. 

The term of office of the Executive Director shall be five years. By the end of that 
period, the Commission  shall carry out  an assessment which  takes into account the 
evaluation  of  the  performance  of  the  Executive  Director  and  the  Agency’s  future 
tasks and challenges. 

The Management Board shall reach decisions on appointment, extension of the term 
of  office  or  removal  from  office  of  the  Executive  Director  on  the  basis  of  a  two-
thirds majority of its members with voting rights. 

The Management Board may, acting on a proposal from the Commission which takes 
into account the assessment referred to in paragraph 5, extend once the term of office 
of the Executive Director for no more than five years. 

The Management Board shall inform the European Parliament about its intention to 
extend the Executive Director’s term of office. Within three months before any such 
extension,  the  Executive  Director  shall,  if  invited,  make  a  statement  before  the 
relevant committee of the European Parliament and answer Members’ questions. 

An Executive Director whose term of office has been extended may not participate in 
another selection procedure for the same post. 

The  Executive  Director  may  be  removed  from  office  only  by  decision  of  the 
Management Board, acting on a proposal from the Commission. 

Article 34 
Seconded national experts and other staff 

The Agency may make use of seconded national experts or other staff not employed 
by  the  Agency.  The  Staff  Regulations  and  the  Conditions  of  Employment  of  Other 
Servants shall not apply to such staff. 

The Management Board shall adopt a decision laying down rules on the secondment 
to the agency of national experts. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

1. 

2. 

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CHAPTER V 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 35 
Legal status of the Agency 

1. 

2. 

The Agency shall be a body of the Union and shall have legal personality. 

In  each  Member  State,  the  Agency  shall  enjoy  the  most  extensive  legal  capacity 
accorded to legal persons under national law. It may, in particular, acquire or dispose 
of  movable  and  immovable  property  and  may  be  a  party  to  legal  proceedings,  or 
both. 

3. 

The Agency shall be represented by its Executive Director. 

Article 36 
Liability of the Agency  

The contractual liability of the Agency shall be governed by the law applicable to the 
contract in question. 

The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction to give judgment 
pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in a contract concluded by the Agency. 

In  the  case  of  non-contractual  liability,  the  Agency  shall,  in  accordance  with  the 
general  principles  common  to  the  laws  of  the  Member  States,  make  good  any 
damage caused by it or its servants in the performance of their duties. 

The  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Union  shall  have  jurisdiction  in  any  dispute 
relating to compensation for such damage. 

The  personal  liability  of  its  servants  towards  the  Agency  shall  be  governed  by  the 
relevant conditions applying to the staff of the Agency. 

Article 37 
Language arrangements 

Council  Regulation  No 1  shall  apply  to  the  Agency41.The  Member  States  and  the 
other bodies appointed by them may address the Agency and receive a reply in the 
official language of the institutions of the Union of their choice. 

The translation services required for the functioning of the Agency shall be provided 
by the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union. 

Regulation No 1 determining the languages to be used by the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ 
17, 6.10.1958, p. 401). 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

41 

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1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 38 
Protection of personal data 

The  processing  of  personal  data  by  the  Agency  shall  be  subject  to  Regulation  EC) 
No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council42. 

The  Management  Board  shall  adopt  implementing  measures  referred  to  in  Article 
24(8) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001. The Management Board may adopt additional 
measures  necessary  for  the  application  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 45/2001  by  the 
Agency. 

Article 39 
Cooperation with third countries and international organisations 

In so far as is necessary in order to achieve the objectives set out in this Regulation, 
the Agency may cooperate with the competent authorities of third countries or with 
international  organisations  or  both.  To  this  end,  the  Agency  may,  subject  to  prior 
approval by the Commission, establish working arrangements with the authorities of 
third  countries  and  international  organisations.  These  arrangements  shall  not  create 
legal obligations incumbent on the Union and its Member States. 

The  Agency  shall  be  open  to  the  participation  of  third  countries  that  have  entered 
into agreements with the Union to this effect. Under the relevant provisions of these 
agreements,  arrangements  shall  be  made  specifying  in  particular  the  nature,  extent 
and manner in which those countries will participate in the Agency’s work, including 
provisions  relating  to  participation  in  the  initiatives  undertaken  by  the  Agency, 
financial contributions and staff. As regards staff matters, those arrangements shall, 
in any event, comply with the Staff Regulations. 

The  Management  Board  shall  adopt  a  strategy  for  relations  with  third  countries  or 
international  organisations  concerning  matters  for  which  the  Agency  is  competent. 
The  Commission  shall  ensure  that  the  agency  operates  within  its  mandate  and  the 
existing institutional framework by concluding an appropriate working arrangement 
with the agency's Executive Director. 

Article 40 
Security rules on the protection of classified and sensitive non-classified information 

In  consultation with  the Commission,  the Agency shall  adopt  its security rules  applying  the 
security  principles  contained  in  the  Commission’s  security  rules  for  protecting  European 
Union  Classified  Information  (EUCI)  and  sensitive  non-classified  information,  as  set  out  in 
Commission  Decisions  (EU,  Euratom)  2015/443  and  2015/444.  This  shall  cover,  inter  alia, 
provisions for the exchange, processing and storage of such information. 

1. 

42 

Article 41 
Headquarters Agreement and operating conditions 

The  necessary  arrangements  concerning  the  accommodation  to  be  provided  for  the 
Agency  in  the  host  Member  State  and  the  facilities  to  be  made  available  by  that 

Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on 
the  protection  of  individuals  with  regard  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  by  the  Community 
institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1). 

EN 

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Member State together with the specific rules applicable in the host Member State to 
the  Executive  Director,  members  of  the  Management  Board,  Agency  staff  and 
members of their families shall be laid down in a Headquarters Agreement between 
the  Agency  and  Member  State  where  the  seat  is  located,  concluded  after  obtaining 
the approval of the Management Board and no later than [2 years after the entry into 
force of this Regulation].  

2. 

The Agency’s host Member State shall provide the best possible conditions to ensure 
the proper functioning of the Agency, including the accessibility of the location, the 
existence  of  adequate  education  facilities  for  the  children  of  staff  members, 
appropriate  access  to  the  labour  market,  social  security  and  medical  care  for  both 
children and spouses. 

Article 42 
Administrative control 

The  operations  of  the  Agency  shall  be  supervised  by  the  Ombudsman  in  accordance  with 
Article 228 TFEU. 

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TITLE III 
CYBERSECURITY CERTIFICATION FRAMEWORK 

Article 43 
European cybersecurity certification schemes 

A European cybersecurity certification scheme shall attest that the ICT products and services 
that have been certified in accordance with such scheme comply with specified requirements 
as regards their ability to resist at a given level of assurance, actions that aim to compromise 
the availability, authenticity, integrity or confidentiality of stored or transmitted or processed 
data  or  the  functions  or  services  offered  by,  or  accessible  via,  those  products,  processes, 
services and systems. 

Article 44 
Preparation and adoption of a European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme 

Following  a  request  from  the  Commission,  ENISA  shall  prepare  a  candidate 
European cybersecurity certification scheme which meets the requirements set out in 
Articles  45,  46  and  47  of  this  Regulation.  Member  States  or  the  European 
Cybersecurity  Certification  Group  (the  'Group')  established  under  Article  53  may 
propose  the preparation of a candidate European cybersecurity certification scheme 
to the Commission.  

When preparing candidate schemes referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, ENISA 
shall  consult  all  relevant  stakeholders  and  closely  cooperate  with  the  Group.  The 
Group  shall  provide  ENISA  with  the  assistance  and  expert  advice  required  by 
ENISA in relation to the preparation of the candidate scheme, including by providing 
opinions where necessary.  

ENISA  shall  transmit  the  candidate  European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme 
prepared in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article to the Commission.  

The  Commission,  based  on  the  candidate  scheme  proposed  by  ENISA,  may  adopt 
implementing  acts,  in  accordance  with  Article  55(2),  providing  for  European 
cybersecurity  certification  schemes  for  ICT  products  and  services  meeting  the 
requirements of Articles 45, 46 and 47 of this Regulation. 

ENISA  shall  maintain  a  dedicated  website  providing  information  on,  and  publicity 
of, European cybersecurity certification schemes. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Article 45 
Security objectives of European cybersecurity certification schemes 

A European cybersecurity  certification scheme shall  be  so designed to  take into account,  as 
applicable, the following security objectives: 

(a)  protect  data  stored,  transmitted  or  otherwise  processed  against  accidental  or 

unauthorised storage, processing, access or disclosure; 

(b)  protect  data  stored,  transmitted  or  otherwise  processed  against  accidental  or 

unauthorised destruction, accidental loss or alteration; 

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(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

ensure 
exclusively the data, services or functions to which their access rights refer; 

that  authorised  persons,  programmes  or  machines  can  access 

record  which  data,  functions  or  services  have  been  communicated,  at  what 
times and by whom; 

ensure that it is possible to check which data, services or functions have been 
accessed or used, at what times and by whom; 

restore  the  availability  and  access  to  data,  services  and  functions  in  a  timely 
manner in the event of physical or technical incident; 

ensure  that  ICT  products  and  services  are  provided  with  up  to  date  software 
that does not contain known vulnerabilities, and are provided mechanisms for 
secure software updates. 

Article 46 
Assurance levels of European cybersecurity certification schemes 

1. 

2. 

A  European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme  may  specify  one  or  more  of  the 
following  assurance  levels:  basic,  substantial  and/or  high,  for  ICT  products  and 
services issued under that scheme. 

The  assurance  levels  basic,  substantial  and  high  shall  meet  the  following  criteria 
respectively: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

assurance  level  basic  shall  refer  to  a  certificate  issued  in  the  context  of  a 
European cybersecurity certification scheme, which provides a limited degree 
of  confidence  in  the  claimed  or  asserted  cybersecurity  qualities  of  an  ICT 
product  or  service,  and 
technical 
specifications,  standards  and  procedures  related  thereto,  including  technical 
controls, the purpose of which is to decrease the risk of cybersecurity incidents; 

is  characterised  with  reference 

to 

assurance level substantial shall refer to a certificate issued in the context of a 
European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme,  which  provides  a  substantial 
degree  of  confidence  in  the  claimed  or  asserted  cybersecurity  qualities  of  an 
ICT  product  or  service,  and  is  characterised  with  reference  to  technical 
specifications,  standards  and  procedures  related  thereto,  including  technical 
controls,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  decrease  substantially  the  risk  of 
cybersecurity incidents; 

assurance  level  high  shall  refer  to  a  certificate  issued  in  the  context  of  a 
European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme,  which  provides  a  higher  degree 
of  confidence  in  the  claimed  or  asserted  cybersecurity  qualities  of  an  ICT 
product or service than certificates with the assurance level substantial, and is 
technical  specifications,  standards  and 
characterised  with  reference 
procedures related thereto, including technical controls, the purpose of which is 
to prevent cybersecurity incidents. 

to 

Article 47 
Elements of European cybersecurity certification schemes 

1. 

A European cybersecurity certification scheme shall include the following elements: 

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(a) 

subject-matter and scope of the certification, including the type or categories of 
ICT products and services covered; 

(b)  detailed  specification  of  the  cybersecurity  requirements  against  which  the 
specific ICT products and services are evaluated, for example by reference to 
Union or international standards or technical specifications; 

(c)  where applicable, one or more assurance levels;   

(d) 

specific evaluation criteria and methods used, including types of evaluation, in 
order  to  demonstrate  that  the  specific  objectives  referred  to  in  Article  45  are 
achieved; 

(e) 

information to be supplied to the conformity assessment bodies by an applicant 
which is necessary for certification; 

(f)  where  the  scheme  provides  for  marks  or  labels,  the  conditions  under  which 

such marks or labels may be used; 

(g)  where surveillance is part of the scheme, the rules for monitoring compliance 
with the requirements of the certificates, including mechanisms to demonstrate 
the continued compliance with the specified cybersecurity requirements; 

(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

(k) 

(l) 

conditions  for  granting,  maintaining,  continuing,  extending  and  reducing  the 
scope of certification;  

rules concerning the consequences of non-conformity of certified ICT products 
and services with the certification requirements;  

rules  concerning  how  previously  undetected  cybersecurity  vulnerabilities  in 
ICT products and services are to be reported and dealt with; 

rules concerning the retention of records by conformity assessment bodies; 

identification of national cybersecurity certification schemes covering the same 
type or categories of ICT products and services; 

(m) 

the content of the issued certificate.  

The  specified  requirements  of  the  scheme  shall  not  contradict  any  applicable  legal 
requirements, 
in  particular  requirements  emanating  from  harmonised  Union 
legislation. 

Where a specific Union act so provides, certification under a European cybersecurity 
certification scheme may be used to demonstrate the presumption of conformity with 
requirements of that act. 

In the absence of harmonised Union legislation, Member State law may also provide 
that a European cybersecurity certification scheme may be used for establishing the 
presumption of conformity with legal requirements. 

Article 48 
Cybersecurity certification 

ICT  products  and  services  that  have  been  certified  under  a  European  cybersecurity 
certification  scheme  adopted  pursuant  to  Article  44  shall  be  presumed  to  be 
compliant with the requirements of such scheme. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

The certification shall be voluntary, unless otherwise specified in Union law. 

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3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

A  European  cybersecurity  certificate  pursuant  to  this  Article  shall  be  issued  by  the 
conformity  assessment  bodies  referred  to  in  Article  51  on  the  basis  of  criteria 
included  in  the  European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme,  adopted  pursuant  to 
Article 44. 

By  the  way  of  derogation  from  paragraph  3,  in  duly  justified  cases  a  particular 
European  cybersecurity  scheme  may  provide  that  a  European  cybersecurity 
certificate  resulting  from  that  scheme  can  only  be  issued  by  a  public  body.  Such 
public body shall be one of the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

a national certification supervisory authority referred to in Article 50(1); 

a  body  that  is  accredited  as  conformity  assessment  body  pursuant  to  Article 
51(1) or  

a  body  established  under  laws,  statutory  instruments,  or  other  official 
administrative  procedures  of  a  Member  State  concerned  and  meeting  the 
requirements  for  bodies  certifying  products,  processes  and  services  further  to 
ISO/IEC 17065:2012. 

The  natural  or  legal  person  which  submits  its  ICT  products  or  services  to  the 
certification mechanism shall provide the conformity assessment body referred to in 
Article 51 with all information necessary to conduct the certification procedure. 

Certificates  shall  be  issued  for  a  maximum  period  of  three  years  and  may  be 
renewed,  under  the  same  conditions,  provided  that  the  relevant  requirements 
continue to be met.  

A  European  cybersecurity  certificate  issued  pursuant  to  this  Article  shall  be 
recognised in all Member States.  

Article 49 
National cybersecurity certification schemes and certificates 

Without  prejudice  to  paragraph  3,  national  cybersecurity  certification  schemes  and 
the  related  procedures  for  the  ICT  products  and  services  covered  by  a  European 
cybersecurity  certification  scheme  shall  cease  to  produce  effects  from  the  date 
established in the implementing act adopted pursuant Article 44(4). Existing national 
cybersecurity certification schemes and the related procedures for the ICT products 
and  services  not  covered  by  a  European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme  shall 
continue to exist. 

Member States shall not introduce new national cybersecurity certification schemes 
for  ICT  products  and  services  covered  by  a  European  cybersecurity  certification 
scheme in force. 

Existing  certificates  issued  under  national  cybersecurity  certification  schemes  shall 
remain valid until their expiry date. 

Article 50 
National certification supervisory authorities 

Each Member State shall appoint a national certification supervisory authority.   

Each  Member  State  shall  inform  the  Commission  of  the  identity  of  the  authority 
appointed. 

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3. 

4. 

5. 

Each  national  certification  supervisory  authority  shall,  in  its  organisation,  funding 
decisions,  legal  structure  and  decision-making,  be  independent  of  the  entities  they 
supervise.  

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  national  certification  supervisory  authorities  have 
adequate  resources  to  exercise  their  powers  and  to  carry  out,  in  an  effective  and 
efficient manner, the tasks assigned to them.  

For  the  effective  implementation  of  the  regulation,  it  is  appropriate  that  these 
authorities participate in the European Cybersecurity Certification Group established 
pursuant to Article 53 in an active, effective, efficient and secure manner. 

6. 

National certification supervisory authorities shall: 

(a)  monitor  and  enforce  the  application  of  the  provisions  under  this  Title  at 
national  level  and  supervise  compliance  of  the  certificates  that  have  been 
issued  by  conformity  assessment  bodies  established  in  their  respective 
territories with the requirements set out in this Title and in the corresponding 
European cybersecurity certification scheme; 

(b)  monitor  and  supervise  the  activities  of  conformity  assessment  bodies  for  the 
purpose  of  this  Regulation,  including  in  relation  to  the  notification  of 
conformity assessment bodies and the related tasks set out in Article 52 of this 
Regulation; 

(c)  handle complaints lodged by natural or legal persons in relation to certificates 
issued  by  conformity  assessment  bodies  established  in  their  territories, 
investigate, to the extent appropriate, the subject matter of  the complaint, and 
inform  the  complainant  of  the  progress  and  the  outcome  of  the  investigation 
within a reasonable time period; 

(d) 

cooperate  with  other  national  certification  supervisory  authorities  or  other 
public  authorities,  including  by  sharing  information  on  possible  non-
compliance  of  ICT  products  and  services  with  the  requirements  of  this 
Regulation or specific European cybersecurity certification schemes; 

(e)  monitor relevant developments in the field of cybersecurity certification. 

7. 

Each  national  certification  supervisory  authority  shall  have  at  least  the  following 
powers: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

to request conformity assessment bodies and European cybersecurity certificate 
holders to provide any information it requires for the performance of its task; 

to  carry  out  investigations,  in  the  form  of  audits,  of  conformity  assessment 
bodies  and  European  cybersecurity  certificates'  holders,  for  the  purpose  of 
verifying compliance with the provisions under Title III; 

to  take  appropriate  measures,  in  accordance  with  national  law,  in  order  to 
ensure  that  conformity  assessment  bodies  or  certificate  holders  comply  with 
this Regulation or with a European cybersecurity certification scheme; 

to  obtain  access  to  any  premises  of  conformity  assessment  bodies  and 
European  cybersecurity  certificates'  holders  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out 
investigations in accordance with Union or Member State procedural law; 

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(e) 

(f) 

to  withdraw,  in  accordance  with  national  law,  certificates  that  are  not 
compliant  with  this  Regulation  or  a  European  cybersecurity  certification 
scheme; 

to impose penalties, as provided for in Article 54, in accordance with national 
law, and to require the immediate cessation of the breaches of obligations set 
out in this Regulation. 

National certification supervisory authorities shall cooperate amongst each other and 
the  Commission  and,  in  particular,  exchange  information,  experiences  and  good 
practices  as  regards  cybersecurity  certification  and  technical  issues  concerning 
cybersecurity of ICT products and services. 

Article 51 
Conformity assessment bodies 

The  conformity  assessment  bodies  shall  be  accredited  by  the  national  accreditation 
body  named  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  765/2008  only  when  they  meet  the 
requirements set out in the Annex to this Regulation. 

Accreditation shall be issued for a maximum of five years and may be renewed on 
the  same  conditions  provided  that  the  conformity  assessment  body  meets  the 
requirements  set  out  in  this  Article.  Accreditation  bodies  shall  revoke  an 
accreditation of a conformity assessment body pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article 
where  the  conditions  for  the  accreditation  are  not,  or  are  no  longer,  met  or  where 
actions taken by a conformity assessment body infringe this Regulation. 

Article 52 
Notification 

For  each  European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme  adopted  pursuant  Article  44, 
national  certification  supervisory  authorities  shall  notify  the  Commission  of  the 
accredited conformity assessment bodies accredited to issue certificates at specified 
assurance  levels  as  referred  to  in  Article  46  and,  without  undue  delay,  of  any 
subsequent changes thereto. 

One year after the entry into force of a European cybersecurity certification scheme, 
the Commission shall publish a list of notified conformity assessment bodies in the 
Official Journal. 

If the Commission receives a notification after the expiry of the period referred to in 
paragraph  2,  it  shall  publish  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European  Union  the 
amendments to the list referred to in paragraph 2 within two months from the date of 
receipt of that notification. 

A  national  certification  supervisory  authority  may  submit  to  the  Commission  a 
request  to  remove  a  conformity  assessment  body  notified  by  that  national 
certification  supervisory  authority  from  the  list  referred  to  in  paragraph  2  of  this 
Article. The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union 
the corresponding amendments to the list within one month from the date of receipt 
of the national certification supervisory authority’s request. 

8. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

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5. 

1. 

2. 

The  Commission  may,  by  means  of  implementing  acts,  define  the  circumstances, 
formats  and  procedures  of  notifications  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  of  this  Article. 
Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination 
procedure referred to in Article 55(2).  

Article 53 
European Cybersecurity Certification Group 

The European Cybersecurity Certification Group (the 'Group') shall be established. 

The  Group  shall  be  composed  of  national  certification  supervisory  authorities.  The 
authorities shall be represented by the heads or by other high level representatives of 
national certification supervisory authorities. 

3. 

The Group shall have the following tasks: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

to  advise  and  assist  the  Commission  in  its  work  to  ensure  a  consistent 
implementation  and  application  of  the  present  Title,  in  particular  regarding 
cybersecurity  certification  policy  issues,  coordination  of  policy  approaches, 
and the preparation of European cybersecurity certification schemes; 

to assist, advise and cooperate with ENISA in relation to the preparation of a 
candidate scheme in accordance with Article 44 of this Regulation; 

to  propose  to  the  Commission  that  it  requests  the  Agency  to  prepare  a 
candidate  European  cybersecurity  certification  scheme  in  accordance  with 
Article 44 of this Regulation; 

to adopt opinions addressed to the Commission relating to the maintenance and 
review of existing European cybersecurity certifications schemes; 

to examine the relevant developments in the field of cybersecurity certification 
and exchange good practices on cybersecurity certification schemes; 

to  facilitate  the  cooperation  between  national  certification  supervisory 
authorities  under  this  Title  through  the  exchange  of  information,  in  particular 
by establishing methods for the efficient exchange of information relating to all 
issues concerning cybersecurity certification. 

4. 

The  Commission  shall  chair  the  Group  and  provide  the  secretariat  to  it,  with  the 
assistance of ENISA as provided for in Article 8(a).  

Article 54 
Penalties 

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Title 
and  European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes,  and  shall  take  all  measures  necessary  to 
ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate 
and  dissuasive.  Member  States  shall  [by  …/without  delay]  notify  the  Commission  of  those 
rules and of those measures and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment affecting them. 

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TITLE IV 
FINAL PROVISIONS 

Article 55 
Committee procedure 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  committee.  That  committee  shall  be  a 
committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Article  5  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
182/2011 shall apply. 

Article 56 
Evaluation and review 

Not later than five years after the date referred to in Article 58, and every five years 
thereafter,  the  Commission  shall  assess  the  impact,  effectiveness  and  efficiency  of 
the Agency and its working practices and the possible need to modify the mandate of 
the Agency and the financial implications of any such modification. The evaluation 
shall take into account any feedback made to the Agency in response to its activities. 
Where  the  Commission  considers  that  the  continuation  of  the  Agency  is  no  longer 
justified  with  regard  to  its  assigned  objectives,  mandate  and  tasks,  it  may  propose 
that this Regulation be amended with regard to the provisions related to the Agency. 

The  evaluation  shall  also  assess  the  impact,  effectiveness  and  efficiency  of  the 
provisions of Title III with regard to the objectives of ensuring an adequate level of 
cybersecurity  of  ICT  products  and  services  in  the  Union  and  improving  the 
functioning of the internal market. 

The Commission shall forward the evaluation report together with its conclusions to 
the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Management  Board.  The  findings  of 
the evaluation report shall be made public. 

Article 57 
Repeal and succession 

Regulation (EC) No 526/2013 is repealed with effect from [….]. 

References  to  Regulation  (EC)  No 526/2013  and  to  ENISA  shall  be  construed  as 
references to this Regulation and to the Agency. 

The  Agency  succeeds  the  Agency  that  was  established  by  Regulation  (EC) 
No 526/2013  as  regards  all  ownership,  agreements,  legal  obligations,  employment 
contracts,  financial  commitments  and  liabilities.  All  existing  decisions  of  the 
Management  Board  and  Executive  Board  remain  valid,  providing  they  are  not  in 
conflict with the provisions of this Regulation.  

4. 

The Agency shall be established for an indefinite period of time starting from […] 

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5. 

6. 

1. 

2. 

The  Executive  Director appointed  pursuant  to  Article  24(4)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
526/2013 shall be the Executive Director of the Agency for the remaining part of his 
term of office. 

The  Members  and  their  alternates  of  the  Management  Board  appointed  pursuant  to 
Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 526/2013 shall be the Members and their alternates 
of  the  Management  Board  of  the  Agency  for  the  remaining  part  of  their  term  of 
office. 

Article 58 

 Entry into force 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  twentieth  day  following  that  of  its 
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member 
States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT  

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

1.1. 

Title of the proposal/initiative  

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on ENISA, the 
"EU cybersecurity agency" and repealing Regulation (EU) 526/2013, and on Information 
and Communication Technology security certification (''Cybersecurity Act/Regulation'') 

1.2. 

Policy area(s) concerned 

Policy area: 09 - Communications networks, content and technology 

Activity: 09.02 digital single market 

1.3. 

Nature of the proposal/initiative  

 The proposal/initiative relates to a new action (Title III – Certification) 

 The proposal/initiative relates to a new action following a pilot project/preparatory 
action43  

The  proposal/initiative  relates  to  the  extension  of  an  existing  action  (Title  II  – 
ENISA's mandate) 

 The proposal/initiative relates to an action redirected towards a new action  

1.4. 

Objective(s) 

1.4.1.  The Commission's multiannual strategic objective(s) targeted by the proposal/initiative  

1. Increase the resilience of the Member States, businesses and the EU as a whole  

2. Ensure the proper functioning of the EU internal market for ICT products and services 

3. Increase the global competitiveness of the EU companies operating in the ICT field. 

4. Approximate the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States 
which require cybersecurity 

1.4.2. 

Specific objective(s)  

With the general objectives in mind, in the broader context of the reviewed Cybersecurity 
Strategy, the instrument, by delineating the scope and mandate of ENISA and establishing 
European  certification  framework  for  ICT  products  and  services,  intends  to  achieve  the 
following specific objectives: 

1.  Increase capabilities and preparedness of Member States and businesses 

2.  Improve  cooperation  and  coordination  across  Member  States  and  EU, 

institutions, agencies and bodies. 

3.  Increase  EU  level  capabilities  to  complement  the  action  of  Member  States,  in 

particular in the case of cross-border cyber crises. 

4.  Increase awareness of citizens and businesses on cybersecurity issues.  

5.  Strengthen  trust  in  the  digital  single  market  and  in  digital  innovation  through 
increasing the overall transparency of cybersecurity assurance44 of ICT products 
and services. 

43 

As referred to in Article 54(2)(a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation. 

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ENISA will contribute to achieving the above objectives through:  

Enhanced policy making support – provide guidance and advice to the Commission and 
the  Member  States  to  update  and  develop  a  holistic  normative  framework  in  the  field  of 
cybersecurity  as  well  as  sector-specific  policy  and  law  initiatives  where  cybersecurity 
matters are involved; contribute to the work of the Cooperation Group (art. 11 of Directive 
(EU)  2016/1148)  by  providing  expertise  and  assistance;  support  policy  development  and 
implementation  in the area of electronic identity and trust services; promote exchange of 
best practices among competent authorities;   

Enhanced  capacity  building  support    -  provide  support  to  Member  States,  the  Union 
institutions, bodies, offices and agencies to develop and improve the prevention, detection, 
analysis as well as the capacity to respond to cybersecurity problems and incidents; assist 
Member States, upon their request, in developing national CSIRTs, national cybersecurity 
strategies; assist  Union institutions  in developing and reviewing  of Union's cybersecurity 
strategies;  providing  cybersecurity  trainings;  assisting  Member  States  through  the 
Cooperation Group in exchanging best practices; facilitating the establishment of sectoral 
Information Sharing and Analysis Centres (ISACs).  

Operational cooperation  and crisis management support – support cooperation among 
competent  public  bodies  and  between  stakeholders  through  establishing  systematic 
institutions,  bodies,  offices  and  agencies  dealing  with 
cooperation  with  Union 
cybersecurity,  cybercrime  and  the  protection  of  privacy  and  personal  data;  providing  the 
secretariat  of  the  CSIRTs  Network  (art.  12(2)  of  Directive  (EU)  2016/1148)  as  well  as 
contribute to the operational cooperation within the Network by providing, in cooperation 
with CERT-EU, support to Member States, at their request; organise regular cybersecurity 
exercises; contribute to developing a cooperative response to the large scale cross-border 
cybersecurity incidents and crises; conduct, in cooperation with CSIRTs Network ex-post 
technical enquiries of significant incidents and issue follow-up recommendations;  

Market  related  tasks  (standardisation,  certification)  -    perform  a  number  of  functions 
specifically  supporting  the  internal  market:  cybersecurity  'market  observatory',  by 
analysing relevant trends in the cybersecurity market to better match demand and supply; 
support  and  promote  the  development  and  implementation  of  the  Union  policy  on 
cybersecurity  certification  of  ICT  products  and  services  through  preparing  candidate 
European cybersecurity certification schemes for ICT products and services, providing the 
secretariat to the Union Cybersecurity Certification Group, providing guidelines and good 
practices  concerning  security  requirements  of  ICT  products  and  services  in  cooperation 
with national certification supervisory authorities and the industry; Enhanced knowledge, 
information  and  awareness  raising  support  –  provide  assistance  and  deliver  advice  to 
the Commission and the Member States to reach a high level of knowledge, throughout the 
Union,  on  issues  related  to  NIS  and  its  application  to  the  industry  stakeholders.  This 
assumes also pooling, organizing and making available to the public, through a dedicated 
portal,  information  on  security  of  network  and  information  systems  [or  cybersecurity]. 
Another  important  element  are  awareness  raising  activities  and  outreach  campaigns 
targeted at the general public about cybersecurity risks. 

Enhanced  research  and  innovation  support  -  provide  advice  on  research  needs  and 
priority-setting in cybersecurity area;  

44 

Transparency of  cybersecurity  assurance  means providing  users  with sufficient  information on  cybersecurity 
properties which enables users to objectively determine the level of security of a given ICT product, service or 
process. 

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International  cooperation  support  –  support  Union's  efforts  to  cooperate  with  third 
countries  and  with  international  organisations  to  promote  international  cooperation  on 
cybersecurity. 

CERTIFICATION 

Certification  framework  will  contribute  to  achieving  the  objectives  by  increasing  the 
overall transparency of cybersecurity assurance45 of ICT products and services and thereby 
strengthening trust in the digital single market and in digital innovation. This should also 
help  avoid  fragmentation  of  certification  schemes  in  the  EU  and  related  security 
requirement and evaluation criteria across Member States and sectors; 

1.4.3.  Expected result(s) and impact 

Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted. 

A reinforced ENISA (supporting capabilities, prevention, cooperation and awareness at EU 
level, and therefore designed to increase overall EU cyber resilience), as well as supporting 
the  EU  certification  framework  of  ICT  products  and  services  is  expected  to  bring  the 
following impacts (non-exhaustive list): 

Overall impact:  

-  Overall  positive  impact  on  the  internal  market  thanks  to  reduced  market  fragmentation 
and  building  trust  in  digital  technologies  through  better  cooperation,  more  harmonised 
approaches to EU cybersecurity policies and increased capabilities at EU level. This should 
result 
the  costs  of 
cybersecurity/cybercrime incidents, for which the estimated economic impact in the Union 
stands at 0.41% of EU GDP (i.e. around EUR 55 billion). 

in  a  positive  economic 

impact  by  helping 

reduce 

to 

Specific results:  

Improved cybersecurity capabilities and preparedness of Member States and businesses  

- Improved cybersecurity capabilities and preparedness of Member States (thanks to long-
term  strategic  analysis of  cyber  threats  and  incidents,  guidance  and reports,  brokerage  of 
expertise  and  good  practices,  training  and  training  materials  availability,  reinforced 
CyberEurope exercises) 

 -  Improved  capabilities  of  private  actors  thanks  to  the  support  to  the  establishment  of 
Information Sharing and Analysis Centres (ISACs) in various sectors.  

- Improved EU and Member States' cybersecurity preparedness thanks to the availability of 
a well-rehearsed and agreed plans in case of large scale cross-border cybersecurity incident 
tested in CyberEurope exercises;  

Improved  cooperation  and  coordination  across  Member  States  and  EU  institutions, 
agencies and bodies  

- Improved cooperation both within and between public and private sectors; 

-  Improved  consistency  of  approach  to  the  NIS  Directive  implementation  across  borders 
and sectors 

45 

Transparency of  cybersecurity  assurance  means providing  users  with sufficient  information on  cybersecurity 
properties which enables users to objectively determine the level of security of a given ICT product, service or 
process. 

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-  Improved  cooperation  in  the  field  of  certification  thanks  to  an  institutional  framework 
enabling  the  development  of  European  cybersecurity  certification  schemes  and  the 
development of a common policy in the field. 

Increased EU level capabilities to complement the action of Member States 

-  Improved  "EU  operational  capacity"  to  complement  the  action  of  Member  States  and 
support them, upon request and in relation to limited and pre-identified services; These is 
expected  to  have  a  positive  impact  on  the  success  of  incident  prevention,  detection  and 
response both at Member State and Union level;  

Increased awareness of citizens and businesses on cybersecurity issues 

 - Improved general awareness of citizens and business on cybersecurity issues  

 -  Improved  ability  to  make  informed  purchase  decisions  related  to  ICT  products  and 
services thanks to cybersecurity certification 

Strengthened  trust  in  the  digital  single  market  and  in  digital  innovation  through 
increased transparency of cybersecurity assurance of ICT products and services  
- Increased transparency of cybersecurity assurance46 of ICT products and services thanks 
to simplification of procedures for security certification through an EU-wide framework  

- Improved level of assurance of the security proprieties of ICT products and services  

- Increased uptake of security certification incentivised by simplified procedures, reduced 
costs,  and  perspective  of  EU-wide  business  opportunities  not  hampered  by  market 
fragmentation 

-  Improved  competitiveness  within  EU  cybersecurity  market  due  to  reduced  costs  and 
administrative burden for SMEs and eliminating potential market-entry barriers caused by 
numerous national certification systems  

Other 

 - No significant environmental impact is expected for any of the objectives. 

-  With regard to the EU budget, efficiency gains can be expected by increased cooperation 
and coordination of the activities between EU institutions, agencies and bodies. 

1.4.4. 

Indicators of results and impact  

Specify the indicators for monitoring implementation of the proposal/initiative. 

(a) 

Objective:  Increasing  capabilities  and  preparedness  of  Member  States  and 
businesses: 

  Number of  trainings organised by ENISA 

  Geographical coverage (number of countries and areas) of the direct assistance 

provided by ENISA 

  Level of preparedness reached by Member States in terms of  CSIRT maturity 

46 

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properties which enables users to objectively determine the level of security of a given ICT product, service or 
process. 

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and supervision of cybersecurity related regulatory measures 

  Number  of  EU-wide  good  practices  for  critical  infrastructures  provided  by 

ENISA 

  Number of EU-wide good practices for SMEs provided by ENISA 

  Publication  of  annual  strategic  analysis  of  cyber  threats  and  incidents  to 

identify emerging trends by ENISA 

  Regular contribution of ENISA to the work of cybersecurity working groups of 

the European Standardisation Organisations (ESOs). 

Objective: Improving cooperation and coordination across Member States and EU, 
institutions, agencies and bodies: 

  Number of Member States having made use of ENISA recommendations and 

opinions in their policy making process  

  Number  of  EU  institutions,  agencies  and  bodies  having  made  use  of  ENISA 

recommendations and opinions in their policy making process 

  Regular  implementation  of  CSIRTs  Network  work  programme  and  well-
functioning  on  the  CSIRTs  Network  IT  infrastructure  and  communication 
channels 

  Number  of  technical  reports  made  available  to  and  used  by  the  Cooperation 

Group 

  Consistent  approach  to  the  NIS  Directive  implementation  across  borders  and 

sectors 

  Number of regulatory compliance assessments performed by ENISA 

  Number  of  ISACS  in  place  in  different  sectors,  in  particular  for  critical 

infrastructures 

  Establishment  and  regular  running  of  information  platform  disseminating 
cybersecurity  information  deriving  from  the  EU  institutions,  agencies  and 
bodies 

  Regular  contribution  to  the  preparation  of  EU  research  and  innovation  work 

programmes 

  Cooperation agreement between ENISA, EC3 and CERT-EU in place  

  Number of certification schemes included and developed under the Framework 

Objective:  Increasing  EU  level  capabilities  to  complement  the  action  of  Member 
States, in particular in the case of cross-border cyber crises: 

  Publication  of  annual  strategic  analysis  of  cyber  threats  and  incidents  to 

identify emerging trends by ENISA 

  Publication of aggregated information of incident reported under NIS Directive 

by ENISA 

  Number of pan-European exercises coordinated by the Agency and number of 

Member States and organisations involved. 

  Number  of  requests  to  support  emergency  response  by  Member  States  to 

ENISA and performed by the Agency 

  Number  of  analyses  of  vulnerabilities,  artefacts  and  incidents  performed  by 

ENISA in cooperation with CERT-EU. 

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  Availability  of  EU-wide  situational  reports  based  on  information  made 
available to ENISA by Member States and other entities in case of large scale 
cross-border cyber incident. 

Objective: Increasing awareness of citizens and businesses on cybersecurity issues:  

  Regular  running  of  EU-wide  and  national  awareness  raising  campaigns  and 

regular update of the topics according to the emerging learning needs. 

 

Increase of cyber awareness among EU citizens 

  Regular running of cybersecurity awareness quiz and increase over the time of 

the percentage of correct responses.  

  Regular publication of cybersecurity and cyber hygiene good practices targeted 

to employees and organisations. 

Objective: Strengthening trust in the digital single market and in digital innovation 
through  increasing  the  overall  transparency  of  cybersecurity  assurance47  of  ICT 
products and services: 

  Number of schemes that adhere to the EU framework  

  Reduced cost of obtaining a certificate for ICT security. 

  Number  of  conformity  assessment  bodies  specialized  in  ICT  certification, 

across Member States 

  Set-up  of  the  European  Cybersecurity  Certification  Group  and  regular 

organisation of meetings 

  Guidelines for certification according to the EU framework in place  

  Regular  publication  of  analyses    of  the  main  trends  in  the  EU  cybersecurity 

market 

  Number  of  certified  ICT  products  and  services  according  to  the  rules  of  the 

European ICT security certification framework 

 

Increased  number  of  end-users  who  are  aware  of  security  features  of  ICT 
products and services 

(b) 

1.4.5.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term  

In  view  of  the  regulatory  requirements  and  fast  evolving  cybersecurity  threat  landscape, 
ENISA's mandate needs to be reviewed to lay down a renewed set of tasks and functions, 
with  a  view  to  effectively  and  efficiently  supporting  Member  States,  EU  institutions  and 
other  stakeholders'  efforts  to  ensure  a  secure  cyberspace  in  the  European  Union.  The 
suggested scope of the mandate is delineated, strengthening those areas where the agency 
has shown clear added value and adding those new areas where support is needed in view 
of the new policy priorities and instruments, in particular the NIS Directive, the review of 
the  EU  Cybersecurity  Strategy,  the  EU  Cybersecurity  Blueprint  for  cyber  crisis 
cooperation  and  ICT  security  certification.  The  new  proposed  mandate  seeks  to  give  the 
Agency  stronger  and  more  central  role,  in  particular  by  also  supporting  Member  States 

47 

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properties which enables users to objectively determine the level of security of a given ICT product, service or 
process. 

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more actively to counter particular threats (operational capacity) and by becoming a centre 
of expertise supporting Member States and the Commission on cybersecurity certification. 

At  the  same  time  the  proposals  establishes  a  European  Cybersecurity  Certification 
Framework for ICT products and services and specifies the essential functions and tasks of 
ENISA  in  the  field  of  cybersecurity  certification.  The  Framework  lays  down  common 
provisions  and  procedures  enabling  the  creation  of  EU-wide  cybersecurity  certification 
schemes  for  specific  ICT  products/services  or  cybersecurity  risks.  The  creation  of 
European cybersecurity certification schemes in accordance with the Framework will allow 
certificates  issued  under  those  schemes  to  be  valid  and  recognised  across  all  Member 
States and to address the current market fragmentation. 

1.4.6.  Added value of Union involvement  

Cybersecurity  is  a  truly  global  issue,  which  is  cross-border  by  nature  and  is  becoming 
increasingly cross-sector due to the interdependencies between networks and information 
systems. The number, complexity and scale of cybersecurity incidents and their impact on 
economy and society are growing over time and they are expected to further increase in 
parallel  to  technological  developments,  for  example  the  proliferation  of  the  internet  of 
things. This implies that the need for increased common effort from Member States, EU 
institutions, private stakeholders to face cybersecurity threats cannot expected to decrease 
in the future.  

Since its establishment in 2004, ENISA has aimed to foster cooperation between Member 
States  and  the  NIS  stakeholders,  including  supporting  public-private  cooperation.  This 
support to cooperation included the technical work to provide an EU-wide picture of the 
threat landscape, the set-up of expert groups and the organisation of pan-European cyber 
incident  and  crisis  management  exercises  for  public  and  private  sectors  exercises  (in 
particular  "Cyber  Europe").  The  NIS  Directive  entrusted  ENISA  with  additional  tasks, 
including the role of the Secretariat of the CSIRTs Network for operational cooperation 
between Member States.  

The  added  value  of  acting  at  EU  level,  in  particular  to  enhance  cooperation  between 
Member  States  but  also  between  NIS  communities  has  been  recognised  by  the  2016 
Council  Conclusions48  and  it  also  clearly  emerges  from  the  2017  evaluation  of  ENISA, 
which shows that Agency's added value lies primarily in its ability to enhance cooperation 
among  these  stakeholders.  There  is  no  other  actor  at  EU  level  that  supports  the 
cooperation of the same variety of stakeholders on NIS.  

ENISA's added value in bringing cybersecurity communities and stakeholders together is 
also  valid  in  the  field  of  certification.  The  rise  of  cybercrime  and  security  threats  has 
resulted  in  the  emergence  of  national  initiatives  setting  high-level  cybersecurity  and 
certification requirements for ICT components used in traditional infrastructure. Although 
important, these initiatives bear the risk of creating fragmentation of the single market and 
barriers  for  interoperability.  An  ICT  vendor  might  need  to  undergo  several  certification 
processes to be able to sell in several Member States.The ineffectiveness/inefficiency of 
the  current  certification  schemes  is  unlikely  to  be  solved  in  the  absence  of  EU 
intervention.  In the absence of action, the market fragmentation is very likely to increase 
in  the  short-medium  term  (next  5-10  years)  with  the  emergence  of  new  certification 
schemes. The lack of coordination and interoperability across such schemes is an element 

48 Council Conclusions on Strengthening Europe's Cyber Resilience System and Fostering a Competitive and Innovative 

Cybersecurity Industry - 15 November 2016. 

EN 

75 

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which decreases the potential of the digital single market. This proves the added value of 
establishing  a  European  Cybersecurity  Certification  Framework  for  ICT  products  and 
services  putting  the  right  conditions  in  place  for  effectively  addressing  the  problem 
related to the co-existence of multiple certification procedures in various Member States, 
reducing certification costs and thus making certification in the EU overall more attractive 
from a commercial and competitive perspective. 

1.4.7.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

In accordance with the ENISA legal base, the Commission has carried out an evaluation of 
the  Agency,  which  included  an  independent  study  as  well  as  a  public  consultation.  The 
evaluation  came  to  a  conclusion  that  ENISA's  objectives  remain  relevant  today.  In  a 
context  of  technological  developments  and  evolving  threats  and  of  significant  need  for 
increased network and information security (NIS) in the EU, there is a need for technical 
expertise on the evolution of network and information security issues. Capacities need to 
be built in the Member States to understand and respond to threats, and stakeholders need 
to cooperate across thematic fields and across institutions. 

The  agency  has  been  successfully  contributing  to  increased  NIS  in  Europe  by  offering 
capacity building in 28 Member States, enhancing cooperation between Member States and 
NIS stakeholders; provision of expertise, community building and support to policy.  

While ENISA managed to make an impact, at least to some extent, in the vast field of NIS 
but  it  has  not  fully  succeeded  in  developing  a  strong  brand  name  and  gaining  sufficient 
visibility to become recognised as "the" centre of expertise in Europe. The explanation for 
this  lies  with  the  broad  mandate  of  ENISA,  which  was  not  met  with  proportionally  big 
resources.  Furthermore,  ENISA  remains  the  only  EU  agency  with  a  fixed-term  mandate 
which  limits  its  ability  to  develop  a  long  term  vision  and  support  its  stakeholders  in  a 
sustainable manner. This is also in contrast with the provisions of the NIS Directive, which 
entrust ENISA with tasks with no end date. 

As  far  as  cybersecurity  certification  for  ICT  products  and  services  is  concerned  no 
European Framework exists at the moment.  However, the rise of cybercrime and security 
threats  has  resulted  in  the  emergence  of  national  initiatives,  which  create  the  risk  of 
fragmentation of the single market. 

1.4.8.  Compatibility and possible synergy with other appropriate instruments 

The initiative is highly coherent with the existing policies, in particular in  the area of the 
internal market. Indeed, it is designed according to the overall approach to cybersecurity, 
as defined by the review of the Digital Single Market Strategy, in order to complement a 
comprehensive set of measures, such as the review of the EU Cybersecurity Strategy, the 
blueprint  for  cyber  crisis  cooperation  and  the  initiatives  to  fight  cybercrime.  It  would 
ensure alignment with and build on the provisions of the existing cybersecurity legislation, 
in  particular  the  NIS  Directive,  in  order  to  pursue  further  the  cyber  resilience  of  the  EU 
through enhanced capabilities, cooperation, risk management and cyber awareness. 

The suggested certification measures should address the potential fragmentation caused by 
existing  and  emerging  national  certification  schemes,  therefore  contributing  to  the 
development of the digital single market. The initiative also supports and complements the 
implementation of the NIS Directive by providing the undertakings subject to the Directive 
with a tool to demonstrate compliance with the NIS requirements in the whole Union. 

EN 

76 

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The European ICT cybersecurity certification framework as proposed, is without prejudice 
with the General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR)49 and in particular with the relevant 
provisions  on  regarding  certification50  as  they  apply  to  the  security  of  the  processing  of 
personal data. Last but not least, as much as possible the schemes proposed in the future 
European  framework    should  rely  on  international  standards  as  a  way  to  avoid  creating 
trade barriers and ensure coherence with international initiatives.  

49 

50 

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing 
of  personal  data  and  on  the  free  movement  of  such  data,  and  repealing  Directive  95/46/EC  (General  Data 
Protection Regulation) 
Such as Articles 42 (Certification) and 43 (Certification Bodies) as well as Articles 57, 58, and 70 regarding 
respectively  the  relevant  tasks  and  powers  of  the  independent  supervisory  authorities  and  the  tasks  of  the 
European Data Protection Board. 

EN 

77 

  EN 

 
                                                 
1.5. 

Duration and financial impact  

 Proposal/initiative of limited duration  

–   

Proposal/initiative in effect from [DD/MM]YYYY to [DD/MM]YYYY  

–   

Financial impact from YYYY to YYYY 

 Proposal/initiative of unlimited duration 

– 

– 

Implementation with a start-up period from 2019 to 2020, 

followed by full-scale operation. 

1.6.  Management mode(s) planned51  

 Direct management by the Commission (Title III – Certification) 

–   

executive agencies  

 Shared management with the Member States  

 Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to: 

 international organisations and their agencies (to be specified); 

the EIB and the European Investment Fund; 

 bodies referred to in Articles 208 and 209 (Title II – ENISA) 

 public law bodies; 

  bodies  governed  by  private  law  with  a  public  service  mission  to  the  extent  that  they 
provide adequate financial guarantees; 

  bodies  governed  by  the  private  law  of  a  Member  State  that  are  entrusted  with  the 
implementation  of  a  public-private  partnership  and  that  provide  adequate  financial 
guarantees; 

 persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions in the CFSP pursuant to 
Title V of the TEU, and identified in the relevant basic act. 

Comments  

The Regulation Covers: 

 -  Title  II  of  the  proposed  Regulation  reviews  the  mandate  of  the  European  Union  Agency  for 
Network and Information Security (ENISA)  giving it an important role in certification while 

 - Title III establishes a framework for the creation of European cybersecurity certification schemes 
of ICT products and services, in which ENISA plays a crucial role.  

51 

Details of management modes and references to the Financial Regulation may be found on the BudgWeb site: 
https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/budgweb/EN/man/budgmanag/Pages/budgmanag.aspx. 

EN 

78 

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2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  

Specify frequency and conditions. 

Monitoring  will  start  right  after  the  adoption  of  the  legal  instrument  and  it  will  focus  on  its 
application.  The  Commission  will  organise  meetings  with  ENISA,  Member  States 
representatives (e.g. group of experts) and the relevant stakeholders in particular to facilitate 
the  implementation  of  the  rules  concerning  certification  such  as  the  establishment  of  the 
Board.  

The first evaluation should take place 5 years after the entry into force of the legal instrument, 
provided sufficient data is available. An explicit evaluation and review clause [Art XXX], by 
which  the  Commission  will  conduct  an  independent  evaluation,  is  included  in  the  legal 
instrument.  The  Commission  will  subsequently  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council on its evaluation accompanied where appropriate by a proposal for its review, in order 
to measure the impact of the Regulation and its added value. Further evaluations should take 
place every five years. The Commission Better Regulation methodology on evaluation will be 
applied.  These  evaluations  will  be  conducted  with  the  help  of  targeted,  expert  discussions, 
studies and wide stakeholders consultations.  

ENISA's Executive Director should present to the Management Board an ex-post evaluation of 
ENISA's activities every two years. The Agency should also prepare a follow-up action plan 
regarding  the  conclusions  of  retrospective  evaluations  and  report  on  progress  every  two 
yearsto  the  Commission.  The  Management  Board  should  be  responsible  to  vigilante  on  the 
adequate follow-up of such conclusions.  

Alleged  instances  of  maladministration  in  the  activities  of  the  Agency  may  be  subject  to 
inquiries by the European Ombudsman in accordance with the provisions of Article 228 of the 
Treaty. 

The  data  sources  for  planned  monitoring  would  mostly  be  ENISA,  the  European  Cyber-
Certification  Group,  the  Cooperation  Group,  the  CSIRTs  Network  and  the  Member  States' 
authorities. Besides the data deriving by the reports (including the annual activity reports) of 
ENISA,  the  European  Cyber-Certification  Group,  the  Cooperation  Group  and  the  CSIRTs 
Network,  specific  data  gathering  tools  will  be  used  when  needed  (for  example  surveys  to 
national authorities, Eurobarometer and reports from Cybersecurity Month campaign and the 
pan-European exercises). 

2.2.  Management and control system  

2.2.1.  Risk(s) identified  

The  risks  identified  are  limited:  a  Union  agency  exists  already  and  its  mandate  will  be 
delineated,  strengthening  those  areas  where  the  Agency  has  shown  clear  added  value  and 
adding  those  new  areas  where  support  is  needed  in  view  of  the  new  policy  priorities  and 
instruments, in particular the NIS Directive, the review of the EU Cybersecurity Strategy, the 
upcoming  EU  Cybersecurity  Blueprint  for  cyber  crisis  cooperation  and  ICT  security 
certification.  

EN 

79 

  EN 

 
 
 
The proposal therefore details Agency's functions and leads to efficiency gains. The increase 
of  operational  competences  and  tasks  does  not  represent  a  real  risk  as  they  would  be 
complementing the action of Member States and supporting them, upon request and in relation 
to limited and pre-identified services.  

Furthermore  the  proposed  model  of  the  agency,  as  per  the  Common  Approach,  ensures  that 
there  is  a  sufficient  control  in  place  to  make  sure  that  ENISA  works  towards  its  objectives. 
The operational and financial risks of the proposed changes seem to be limited. 

At the same time, it is necessary to ensure adequate financial resources in order for ENISA to 
fulfil the tasks entrusted by the new mandate, including in the field of certification.  

2.2.2.  Control method(s) envisaged  

The agency's accounts will be submitted for approval of the Court of Auditors and subject to 
the discharge procedure and audits are envisaged.  

Also  the  operations  of  the  agency  are  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the  Ombudsman  in 
accordance with the provisions of Article 228 of the Treaty.  

See also point 2.1 and point 2.2.1 above 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities  

Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures. 

The ENISA’s prevention and protection measures would apply, specifically: 

-  Payments  for  any  service  or  studies  requested  are  checked  by  the  agency’s  staff  prior  to 
payment,  taking  into  account  any  contractual  obligations,  economic  principles  and  good 
financial or management practice. Anti-fraud provisions (supervision, reporting requirements, 
etc.)  will  be  included  in  all  agreements  and  contracts  concluded  between  the  agency  and 
recipients of any payments. 

-  In  order  to  combat  fraud,  corruption  and  other  unlawful  activities  the  provisions  of 
Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 
September  2013  concerning  investigations  conducted  by  the  European  Anti-fraud  Office 
(OLAF) shall apply without restriction. 

-  The  agency  shall  accede,  within  six  months  form  the  day  of  entry  into  force  of  this 
regulation,  to  the  Inter-institutional  Agreement  of  25 May  1999  between  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  and  the  Commission  of  the  European 
Communities  concerning  internal  investigations  by  the  European  Anti-fraud  Office  (OLAF) 
and shall issue, without delay, the appropriate provisions applicable to all the employees of the 
agency. 

EN 

80 

  EN 

 
 
 
3. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

3.1. 

Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget line(s) affected  

 

Existing budget lines  

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines. 

Type of  
expendi
ture 

Diff./N
on-
diff.

52 

Contribution  

from 
EFTA 
countries
53 

from 
candidate 
54
countries

from third 
countries 

within the meaning of 
Article 21(2)(b) of the 
Financial Regulation  

Diff 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

Non-
diff. 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

Budget line 

Heading of 
multiannual financial 
framework 

1a 
Competitiveness 
for growth and 
employment  

ENISA 

09.0203 
and 
Information 
and 
communication  Technology 
security certification  

5 

Administrative 
expenditure] 

 09.0101 
Expenditure 
related  to  staff  in  active 
of 
employment 
Communications 
networks,  content  and 
technology 

09.0102 
Expenditure 
related to external staff in 
active  employment  of 
Communications 
networks,  content  and 

52 
53 
54 

Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations. 
EFTA: European Free Trade Association.  
Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans. 

EN 

81 

EN 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
technology 

09.010211 
Other 
management expenditure  

3.2. 

Estimated impact on expenditure  

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on expenditure  

Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

1a 

Competitiveness for growth and employment  

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

ENISA 

Baseline 

2017 
(31/12/2016) 

2019 

2020 

2021 

2022 

TOTAL 

(from 
01.07.2019) 

Title 1: Staff Expenditure  

Commitments 

(including  also  expenditure  related  to 
staff  recruitment,  training,  socio-medical 
infrastructure and external services) 

Payments 

Title  2: 
expenditure  

Infrastructure  &  operating 

Title 3: Operational Expenditure  

TOTAL appropriations 
for ENISA 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

(1) 

(2) 

(1a) 

(2a) 

(3a) 

(3b) 

=1+1
a +3a 

=2+2
a 

+3b 

6.387 

9.899 

12.082 

13.349 

13.894 

49.224 

6.387 

9.899 

12.082 

13.349 

13.894 

49.224 

1.770 

1.770 

3.086 

3.086 

1.957 

1.957 

4.694 
4.694 

2.232 

2.232 

6.332 
6.332 

2.461 

2.461 

6.438 
6.438 

2.565 

2.565 

6.564 
6.564 

9.215 

9.215 

24.028 
24.028 

11.244 

16.550 

20.646 

22.248 

23.023 

82.467 

11.244 

16.550 

20.646 

22.248 

23.023 

82.467 

EN 

82 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

5 

‘Administrative expenditure’ 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

2019 

2020 

2021 

2022 

TOTAL 

(from 
01.07.2019) 

DG: CNECT 

 Human Resources  
 Other administrative expenditure  

TOTAL DG  CNECT 

Appropriations  

0.216 

0.102 

0.318 

0.846 

0.235 

1.081 

0.846 

0.238 

1.084 

0.846 

0.242 

1.088 

2.754 

0.817 

3.571 

The staff costs were calculated according to the planned recruitment date (employment is envisaged starting from 01.07.2019).  

The resources outlook beyond 2020 is indicative and without prejudice to the Commission proposals for the post-2020 multiannual financial framework 

TOTAL appropriations 
under HEADING 5 
of the multiannual financial 
framework  

(Total  commitments  = 
Total payments) 

0.318 

1.081 

1.084 

1.088 

3.571 

TOTAL appropriations  

Commitments 

16.868 

21.727 

23.332 

2019 

2020 

2021 

2022 

24.11 

TOTAL 

86.038 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

EN 

83 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
under HEADINGS 1 to 5 
of the multiannual financial 
framework  

Payments 

16.868 

21.727 

23.332 

24.11 

86.038 

EN 

84 

EN 

 
 
3.2.2.  Estimated impact on Agency's appropriations  

–   

The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations  

–   

The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below: 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Indicate objectives and outputs55 

 

2019 

2020 

2021 

2022 

TOTAL 

Increasing capabilities and preparedness of Member States and businesses 

1.408  

1.900  

1.931  

1.969  

7.208  

Improving  cooperation  and  coordination  across  Member  States  and  EU  institutions, 
agencies and bodies. 

0.939  

1.266  

1.288 

1.313 

4.806  

Increasing  EU  level  capabilities  to  complement  the  action  of  Member  States,  
in particular in the case of cross-border cyber crises. 

0.704  

0.950  

0.965 

0.985  

3.604  

Increasing awareness of citizens and businesses on cybersecurity issues.  

0.704  

0.950  

0.965  

0.985  

3.604  

Strengthening  trust  in  the  digital  single  market  and  in  digital  innovation  through 
increasing  the  overall  transparency  of  cybersecurity  assurance  of  ICT  products  and 
services. 

0.939  

1.266  

1.288  

1.313  

4.806  

TOTAL COST 

4,694  

6.332 

6.437 

6.565  

24.028 

55 

This table outlines only operational expenditure as per Title 3. 

EN 

85 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
               
              
              
              
                 
                  
              
              
              
                 
                  
                 
                 
                 
                 
                  
                 
                 
                 
                 
                  
              
              
              
                 
               
              
              
              
               
 
                                                 
3.2.3.  Estimated impact on Agency's human resources  

3.2.3.1.  Summary  

–   

The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an 

administrative nature  

–   

The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  appropriations  of  an 

administrative nature, as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Q3/4 2019 

2020 

2021 

2022 

Temporary Officials (AD Grades) 

4.242 

5.695 

6.381 

6.709 

Temporary Officials (AST grades) 

1.601 

1.998 

2.217 

2.217 

Contract Agents 

2.041 

2.041 

2.041 

2.041 

Seconded National Experts 

0.306 

0.447 

0.656 

0.796 

TOTAL 

8.190 

10.181 

11.295 

11.763 

The  staff  costs  were  calculated  according  to  the  planned  recruitment  date  (for  current  ENISA  staff  full 
employment  was  assumed  as  from  01.01.2019).  For  the  new  staff  progressive  employment  was  envisaged 
starting  from  01.07.2019  and  achieving  full  employment  in  2022.  The  resources  outlook  beyond  2020  is 
indicative  and  without  prejudice  to  the  Commission  proposals  for  the  post-2020  multiannual  financial 
framework. 

Estimated impact on the staff (additional FTE) – establishment plan 

Function group and grade 

2017 

Current ENISA 

Q3/Q4.2019 

2020 

2021 

2022 

AD16 
AD15 
AD14 
AD13 
AD12 
AD11 
AD10 
AD9 
AD8 
AD7 
AD6 
AD5 

1 

3 

5 
10 
15 

AD Total 

34 

EN 

3 

2 
4 

9 

86 

2 
3 
3 

8 

3 
3 

6 

1 
2 

3 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AST11 
AST10 
AST9 
AST8 
AST7 
AST6 
AST5 
AST4 
AST3 
AST2 
AST1 
AST Total 
AST/SC 6 
AST/SC 5 
AST/SC 4 
AST/SC 3 
AST/SC 2 
AST/SC 1 
AST/SC  Total 
GRAND TOTAL 

1 
2 

1 
1 

1 

2 
5 
5 
2 

14 

3 

2 

1 

48 

12 

10 

7 

3 

The tasks for additional AD/AST staff to achieve the objectives of the instrument as described 
in section 1.4.2:  

Tasks 

Policy and capacity building  
Operational cooperation 
Certification (market related tasks) 
Knowledge, information and awareness  
TOTAL  

AD 
8 
8 
9 
1 
26 

AST 
1 
1 
3 
1 
6 

SNE 

7 
2 

9 

Total  
9 
16 
14 
2 
41 

Description of tasks to be carried out: 

Tasks 

Additional resources required 

policy 

EU 
implementation & Capacity building 

development 

and 

Tasks  would  include  assisting  the  Cooperation 
Group, supporting consistent NIS implementation 
across  borders,  regular  reporting  on  the  state  of 
implementation  of  the  EU  legal  framework; 
advising  and  coordinating  sectorial  cybersecurity 
initiatives  including  in  energy,  transport  (e.g. 
aviation/  road/  maritime/  connected  vehicles), 
health, 
the 
support 
establishment  of 
Information  Sharing  and 
Analysis Centres (ISACs) in various sectors.  

finance,  providing 

to 

EN 

87 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Operational  cooperation  and  crisis 
management  

The tasks would include:  

Providing  Secretariat  to  the  CSIRT  Network  by 
ensuring,  among  others,  the  well-functioning  of 
the  CSIRTs  Network  IT 
infrastructure  and 
structured 
communication  channels.  Ensure 
cooperation  with  CERT-EU,  EC3  and  other 
relevant EU bodies.  
Organising  Cyber  Europe  Exercises56  -tasks 
related to scaling up the exercise from a biennial 
to  annual  event  and  making  sure  the  exercises 
look at incident from beginning to end.   

include  providing 

Technical  assistance  -  tasks  would  include 
structured cooperation with CERT-EU to provide 
technical  assistance 
in  case  of  significant 
incidents  and  to  support  incident  analysis.  This 
would 
to  Member  States 
assistance  to  handle  incidents  and  analyse  of 
vulnerabilities,  artefacts  and  incidents.  Facilitate 
cooperation between individual Member States in 
dealing  with  emergency  response  by  analysing 
and aggregating national situational reports based 
on  information  made  available  to  the  Agency  by 
Member States and other entities. 

Blueprint  for  coordinated  response  to  large-
scale cross-border cyber incidents - the Agency 
will contribute to develop a cooperative response, 
at Union and Member States level, to large-scale 
cross-border  incidents  or  crises  related  to  the 
cybersecurity  through  a  series  of  tasks  from 
contributing  to  establish  a  situational  awareness 
at Union level to testing the cooperation plans for 
incidents.   

to  ex-post 

Ex  post  technical  enquiries  on  incidents  - 
conduct  or  contribute 
technical 
enquiries  on  incidents  in  cooperation  with  the 
issuing 
CSIRTs  Network  with 
recommendations  and  reinforcing  capabilities  in 
form  of  public  reports  to  better  prevent  future 
incidents.  

view 

a 

Market 

related 

tasks 

The  tasks  would  include  actively  supporting  the 

56 

Cyber Europe is the largest and most comprehensive EU cyber-security exercise to date involving more than 700 
cyber-security professionals from all 28 Member States. It is held every second year. The evaluation of ENISA and 
the 2013 EU Cybersecurity Strategy point to the fact that many stakeholders advocate scaling up Cyber Europe to 
an annual event given the fast evolving nature of cyber threats. This is, however, not feasible at the moment in view 
of the limited resources of the Agency. 

EN 

88 

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(standardisation, certification)  

Knowledge 
awareness raising:  

and 

information, 

to 

technical 

implementation 

including 
prepare 

include  support 
and 

the  Certification 
work  undertaken  within 
technical 
providing 
Framework, 
expertise 
candidate  European 
cybersecurity  certification  schemes.  The  tasks 
to  Union  policy 
will  also 
on 
development 
standardisation, 
and  Market 
certification 
Observatory-  this  will  require  facilitating  the 
standards  of 
risk-management 
take-up  of 
electronic  products,  networks  and  services  and 
advise  operators  of  essential  services  and  digital 
on 
service 
security 
providers 
include 
tasks  will  also 
requirements.  The 
providing  analysis  of  the  main  trends  in  the 
cybersecurity market.  
With  a  view  of  ensuring  easier  access  to  better 
structured information on cybersecurity risks and 
potential  remedies,  the  proposal  confers  to  the 
Agency a new task of developing and maintaining 
the  "information  hub"  of  the  Union.  The  tasks 
would  include  pooling,  organising  and  making 
available to the public, through a dedicated portal, 
information  on 
security  of  network  and 
information  systems,  in  particular  cybersecurity, 
provided  by  the  EU  institutions,  agencies  and 
bodies.  The  tasks  would  also  include  supporting 
ENISA's  activities  in  the  field  of  awareness 
raising to allow the Agency to scale up the effort.  

EN 

89 

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3.2.3.2.  Estimated requirements of human resources for the parent DG 

–   

The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources.  

–   

The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  human  resources,  as 

explained below: 

Estimate to be expressed in full amounts (or at most to one decimal place) 

Baseline 
2017 

Q3/4 
2019 

Additional Staff  

2020 

2021 

2020 

 Establishment plan posts 
(officials and temporary 
staff) 

09 01 01 01 
(Headquarters and 
Commission’s 
Representation 
Offices) 

 External staff (in Full Time 
Equivalent unit: FTE)57 

09 01 02 01 (AC, 
END, INT from the 
‘global envelope’) 

TOTAL 

1 

1 

2 

3 

2 

4 

3 

Description of tasks to be carried out: 

Officials and 
temporary staff 

Represent  the  Commission  in  the  Management  Board  of  the 
agency.  Draw  up  Commission  opinion  on  the  ENISA  single 
programming  document  and  monitor 
implementation. 
Supervise  the  preparation  of  the  agency’s  budget  and  monitor 
its  implementation.  Assist  the  agency  in  developping  its 
actitvities  in  line  with  the  Union  policies  including  by 
participating in relevant meetings. 

its 

Supervise  the  implementation  of  the  framework  for  European 
cybersecurity  certification  schemes  of  ICT  products  and 
services.  Maintain  contacts  with  Member  States  and  other 
to  certification  efforts. 
relevant  stakeholders 
Cooperate  with  ENISA  regarding  candidate  schemes.  Preapre 
candidate European cybersecurity schemes. 

in  relation 

External staff  As above 

57 

AC = Contract Staff; AL = Local Staff; END = Seconded National Expert; INT = agency staff; JED = 
Junior Experts in Delegations.  

EN 

90 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.2.4.  Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework  

–   

The  proposal/initiative  is  compatible  the  current  multiannual  financial 

framework. 

–   

The  proposal/initiative  will  entail  reprogramming  of  the  relevant 

heading in the multiannual financial framework. 

The proposal will entail reprogramming of article 09 02 03 due to the revision of the 
ENISA's mandate, which confers the agency with new tasks related, among others, to 
the  NIS  Directive  implementation  and  the  European  Cybersecurity  Certification 
Framework. The corresponding amounts:  

Year  

2019 

2020 

2021 

2022 

Envisaged 

10.739 

10.954 

N/A 

N/A 

Request 

16.550 

 20.646 

22.248* 

23.023* 

*  This  is  an  estimate.  EU  funding  after  2020  will  be  examined  in  the  context  of  a 
Commission-wide debate on all proposals for the post-2020 period. This means that 
once  the  Commission  has  made  its  proposal  for  the  next  multi-annual  financial 
framework, the Commission will present an amended legislative financial statement 
taking into account the conclusions of the impact assessment58. 

–   

The proposal/initiative requires application of the flexibility instrument 

or revision of the multiannual financial framework59. 

3.2.5.  Third-party contributions  

–   The proposal/initiative does not provide for co-financing by third parties. 

–   The proposal/initiative provides for the co-financing estimated below: 

Year 
2019 

p.m.60 

Year 
2020 

p.m. 

EFTA  

Year 
2021 

p.m. 

Year 
2022 

p.m. 

58 
59 

60 

Link to the page with impact assessment  
See  Articles  11  and  17  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  1311/2013  laying  down  the 
multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020. 
The exact amount for the subsequent years will be known when the EFTA’s proportionality factor will 
be fixed for the year concerned. 

EN 

91 

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3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue  

–   

The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue. 

–   

The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact: 

–   

–   

on own resources  

on miscellaneous 

EN 

92 

  EN