European Commission signs agreement for public-private cybersecurity partnership

The European Commission launched a new public-private partnership on cybersecurity on Tuesday that is expected to trigger $1.9 billion of investment by 2020.

The partnership is part of a series of a new initiatives to better equip Europe against cyber attacks and to strengthen the competitiveness of its cybersecurity sector.

“Without trust and security, there can be no Digital Single Market,” Andrus Ansip, vice president for the Digital Single Market, said. “Europe has to be ready to tackle cyber threats that are increasingly sophisticated and do not recognize borders. Today, we are proposing concrete measures to strengthen Europe’s resilience against such attacks and secure the capacity needed for building and expanding our digital economy.”

The launch of the Digital Single Market coincides with the first European public-private partnership on cybersecurity. The European Union will invest approximately $500 million in the partnership under its research and innovation program called Horizon 2020.

“Europe needs high quality, affordable and interoperable cybersecurity products and services,” Günther Oettinger, commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, said. “There is a major opportunity for our cybersecurity industry to compete in a fast-growing global market. We call on Member States and all cybersecurity bodies to strengthen cooperation and pool their knowledge, information and expertise to increase Europe’s cyber resilience. The milestone partnership on cybersecurity signed today with the industry is a major step.”