Debate: Resilience of critical entities
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Ylva Johansson
Language: EN

Today, as we speak about the resilience of our critical infrastructure, I think about the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Last Tuesday, Russia launched 100 missiles, leaving 50 % of Kyiv, 80 % of Lviv, and 90 % of Ternopil without electricity. The goal? Let me quote Andrey Gurulyov – a Russian state Duma representative. This is what he said, ‘One week after all electricity is cut off, the city of Kyiv will be swimming in shit. There will be a clear threat of an epidemic’. The words of a Russian lawmaker, not mine. How calculating, how callous, how cold-hearted can you be to call on national TV to freeze, starve and terrorize civilians into submission? Showing us the will to destroy critical infrastructure; a blatant disregard for human life of a regime that’s hostile to the European Union. Just think: there is a map somewhere in Moscow pinpointing hospitals, power plants and water supply as targets.  At the end of September in the shallow waters of the Baltic, at 80 metres deep, a series of explosions tore gaping holes in the Nord Stream pipelines, one of them 50 meters wide, causing on the surface a maelstrom of whirling water one kilometre wide. Up to 400 000 tonnes of methane escaped. An act of sabotage and it is not yet clarified who did it. But it happened just after Putin’s mobilisation, just when Russia was conducting fake referendums and just before Putin’s illegal annexations.  About two weeks later, unknown perpetrators paralysed rail traffic in North Germany, disrupting rail links to the Netherlands and Denmark by cutting fibre optic communication cables. The attackers are so far unknown, but the message is clear, ‘We know where you are weak. We know where to strike, any time we like’.  At the meeting of the G7 last week, I made clear the EU utterly condemned these acts of sabotage. We will not be intimidated. We will not tolerate these wanton attacks. We will defend ourselves. And we can do that, thanks to you. Thanks to the political agreements this Parliament reached with the Council this summer. First to strengthen our cybersecurity. Russian cyber-attacks against Ukraine already caused damage in the EU, disrupting the internet in Central Europe. The NIS2 Directive you approved with overwhelming majority will help us fight cyber threats that do real world harm. And today you will vote on the directive improving the resilience of our critical entities, greatly expanding the sectors we will protect. Beyond energy and transport today, also banking and finance and space, drinking water, wastewater, health, food and more. Sharing information on incidents much more quickly, while allowing Member States to protect sensitive information.  We need to do more. Last month, this Parliament called on Member States to protect critical infrastructure as a matter of priority. And here in this Parliament, President von der Leyen announced further steps. As a result, we proposed a Council recommendation. We are asking Member States to carry out stress tests. That’s our most urgent task right now, to make sure our critical infrastructure can resist any act of sabotage or attack. Starting with the energy sector – under such brutal attack now in Ukraine. And we call on Member States to start to implement the directive on critical entities already now. Adopt or update national strategies already now. Already now, start to identify entities critical to society and the economy.  I expect swift entry into force early next year, but it will take nearly two years to write this directive into national laws and we cannot afford to waste a single moment when rockets have already fallen on European soil. Let’s build up our preparedness already now. Now crank up our response – through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism – already now. And scale up our cooperation with NATO and other international partners already now. Honourable members, we must never forget attacks on infrastructure or attacks on people. So, dear Michal, dear rapporteur Šimečka, dear shadows, thank you for helping to protect Europe and protect people. You completed your important work not a moment too soon. More attacks may come. Worse attacks may come. And when this House passes this legislation today, we will be better prepared to meet them.