EU responds to recent incidents with action plan aiming to bolster security of submarine cables

As a response to a number of recent subsea cable incidents that caused disruptions in the EU, the European Commission and the High Representative have launched an action plan to strengthen the security and resilience of this critical infrastructure, covering both power and communication cables.

The Joint Communication, announced by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on February 9 in Vilnius, Lithuania, during the Baltic Energy Independence Day, introduces a range of measures to bolster the resilience of subsea infrastructure, addressing prevention, detection, response, recovery, and deterrence.

Key measures include prevention, detection, response and recovery, and deterrence. This implies stepping up security requirements and risk assessments on submarine cables, while prioritizing funding for the deployment of new and smart ones, allowing for increased redundancies and consequently enhancing resilience, as well as enhancing threat-monitoring capabilities per sea basin to build a comprehensive situational picture, set to enable earlier alerts and more effective responses.

Furthermore, the measures cover improving the efficiency of the EU-level crisis framework for swift action on incidents impacting submarine cables and increasing repair capacity to ensure swift repair of damaged cables, and enforcing sanctions and diplomatic measures against hostile actors and the ‘shadow fleet’, making full use of the Hybrid Toolbox to address hybrid campaigns. This also includes fostering ‘cable diplomacy’ with global partners.

“In response to growing geopolitical tensions, particularly in regions such as the Baltic Sea, the European Commission is taking decisive action to safeguard our critical submarine cable infrastructure,” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.

“With this Action Plan, we are taking a significant step forward to strengthen their security. We want to make sure Europe is equipped not only to prevent and detect sabotage to cables but also to actively deter, repair and respond to any threat to critical infrastructure that is key to our economy and collective security.”

The initiative is designed to support all EU member states.

These strategic actions complement ongoing work by the Submarine Cable Infrastructure Expert Group, composed of Member States and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), and are complementary to NATO’s existing activities and support national and regional endeavors.

Speaking of the next steps, the Commission and the High Representative will roll out specific actions progressively in 2025 and 2026 together with the Member States and ENISA. By the end of this year, the partners are expected to present, amongst others, the mapping of existing and planned submarine cable infrastructures, a coordinated risk assessment on submarine cables, a cable security toolbox of mitigating measures, and a priority list of Cable Projects of European Interest.

The security of the EU’s critical infrastructure will also be an important element of the upcoming Internal Security Strategy. Further work will also build on the Niinistö Report on how to enhance Europe’s civilian and defense preparedness and readiness.

Security and resilience of submarine cable infrastructure were addressed in a 2024 Recommendation on the security and resilience of submarine cable infrastructures, as well as in a white paper on How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs. To deliver on the Recommendation, the European Commission established the Expert Group.