Reply

4.11.2022

The Council wishes to draw the Honourable Member's attention to the fact that the importance of facilitating the establishment of a Member States’ EU cyber intelligence working group was highlighted by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in their Joint Communication on the EU’s Cybersecurity Strategy for the Digital Decade in December 2020.

The Council has acknowledged the importance of strategic intelligence cooperation on cyber threats and activities on several occasions. It is important for the Council to strengthen the EU’s cyber intelligence capacities to enhance cyber resilience, as outlined in t he Strategic Compass for Security and Defence, which the Council approved on 21 March 2022.

In its conclusions of 22 March 2021 on the EU's cybersecurity strategy, the Council invited ‘Member States, through their competent authorities, to continue to contribute to EU INTCEN’s work as the hub for situational awareness and threat assessments on cyber issues to the EU and to explore the proposal on the possible establishment of a Member States’ cyber intelligence working group in order to strengthen INTCEN’s dedicated capacity in this domain, based on voluntary intelligence contributions from the Member States and without prejudice to their competence’.

The cooperation between national intelligence services is a matter of national security and a prerogative of the Member States.

The Council has not agreed on any particular definition of ‘Cyber intelligence service’.