Answer given by Mr Avramopoulos on behalf of the Commission

22.9.2015

The Operational Action Plan referred to forms part of the Policy Cycle on Serious and Organised Crime. The Policy Cycle serves to address the most important criminal threats affecting the EU. Each cycle lasts four years and optimises coordination and cooperation on chosen crime priorities. The process includes drafting annual Operational Action Plans which set out in more detail the concrete activities to be undertaken (individually or jointly) by law enforcement. For the purposes of preserving the integrity of the operations and the potential success of investigations, the Council has designated these Operational Action Plans as EU Restricted information. Therefore the Commission is not in a position to provide further details.

As regards cyber-attacks on the Commission networks, effective protection of IT networks against such attacks remains a priority. The Commission is fully aware that various intelligence actors may have an interest in and deploy surveillance activities aimed at the European Commission, and of the resulting threats potentially affecting its infrastructure. Such threats are not new and steps have been taken to protect the infrastructure accordingly.

The fight against cybercrime has been identified as one of the three core priorities of the European Agenda on Security adopted on 28 April 2015.