About the programme

The Digital Europe Programme will help the EU achieve a high common level of cybersecurity. As more and more services move online, cybersecurity has become crucial to the digital world. Cybersecurity is also an economic opportunity: the global market for products and services grows by 15-20% annually.

The Digital Europe Programme will invest in building European cybersecurity infrastructures – the ‘cyber shield’  and promote the widespread deployment and take-up of state-of-the-art cybersecurity practices and equipment. The Commission aims to strengthen the EU’s digital sovereignty, which relies on the integrity and resilience of data infrastructure, networks and communications.

Most actions under DIGITAL’s cybersecurity section fall under a specific work programme for cybersecurity and will be managed by the future European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre that is being setup in Bucharest. This Centre will work in collaboration with a Network of National Coordination Centres to coordinate cybersecurity investments by the EU, Member States and industry.

Operational objectives

The Regulation establishing the Digital Europe Programme seeks to support the following operational objectives:

• advanced cybersecurity equipment, tools and data infrastructures, together with Member States;
• knowledge, capacity and skills related to cybersecurity; best practices;
• wide deployment of effective state-of-the-art cybersecurity solutions, paying special attention to public authorities and SMEs;
• capabilities within Member States and the private sector in support of the Directive on security of network and information systems (NIS Directive);
• resilience, risk-awareness, at least basics levels of cybersecurity;
• enhancing synergies and coordination between the cybersecurity civilian and defence spheres, by facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices and more.