EU2020: A milestone in cybersecurity

type: press release , Date: 11 December 2020

European Cybersecurity Competence Centre to be located in the Romanian capital Bucharest

The German Presidency of the Council of the EU has successfully completed negotiations with the European Parliament and European Commission on the establishment of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre. The new centre will focus on promoting cybersecurity research projects across the EU. The aim is to improve the chances that European research will produce European cybersecurity products and services that can hold their own on the global market.

Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer said: "We need to ensure that people are safe as they go about their lives online. This new European competence centre will strengthen online security and Europe’s digital sovereignty. And it is good that Romania, too, will now be home to a European institution."

The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre will connect the cybersecurity elements of the Horizon Europe programme (for research) and the Digital Europe programme (for development). The Centre is to be supported by a network of national coordination centres that share knowledge and experience between the national and European level.

Already on 9 December 2020, the governments of the EU member states agreed on the Romanian capital Bucharest as the future location of the centre.