EU, NATO start cooperation on protecting critical infrastructure

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The EU and NATO on Thursday launched a joint committee to protect critical infrastructure, a move spurred by last year’s attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines.

“EU and NATO are joining forces to step up the existing cooperation by launching an EU-NATO Task Force on Resilience of Critical Infrastructure to reinforce our common security,” the European Commission said in a statement.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said senior experts from the EU and NATO “will work hand in hand to identify key threats to our critical infrastructure and work on responses.”

The cooperation will focus on the areas of energy, digital infrastructure, transport, and space, the statement said.

The partners have decided to strengthen the resilience of the critical infrastructure after experiencing the “weaponization of energy” and “acts of sabotage against the Nord Stream gas pipelines,” it added. ​​​​​​​