EU to Establish European Cyber Rapid Reaction Forces – Lithuanian MoD

The European Union will create rapid reaction teams to counter cyberthreats within the Permanent Enhanced Structured Cooperation (PESCO), Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis said on Monday.
 
We are signing a declaration of intent regarding the establishment of the European cyber rapid reaction forces… Six countries are signing [the declaration] – Estonia, Croatia, Romania, Lithuania, Spain and the Netherlands," Karoblis told reporters after arriving in Luxembourg for the Foreign Affairs Council.
 
The minister noted that several other states also participated in the initiative, but would not sign the document due to "internal procedural reasons."
 
"This initiative, we strongly believe, is one of the most important PESCO initiatives. Cybersecurity is one of the domains that is not adequate in the address so far," Karoblis added.
 
A joint EU program called Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) was adopted by the Council of the European Union in March. It foresees the possibility of a number of EU member states working more closely together in the area of security and defense in a binding and permanent framework. The program consists of 17 projects involving 25 countries.

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