Protection of submarine cables: EU wants to focus on prevention and deterrence

Europe is to better prevent and detect sabotage of undersea cables. This is the aim of a package of measures to protect critical communication infrastructures presented by the EU Commission and Kaja Kallas, European Commissioner for External Relations, on Friday. Henna Virkkunen, Commission Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, emphasized at the presentation of the action plan in Helsinki: "It is also about deterring potential threat actors and repairing cables more quickly.

With the initiative, the EU is to focus on prevention, among other things. Stricter safety requirements and risk assessments for submarine cables are planned. New "modern and smart" communication lines on the seabed are to be funded and put into operation as a matter of priority in order to strengthen resilience. Improved threat monitoring capabilities in the respective regions, such as the Mediterranean and the North and Baltic Seas, are also planned in order to create a "comprehensive situational picture". This should enable earlier alerts and more efficient responses.

According to the project, the existing crisis framework will be expanded at EU level for rapid action in the event of incidents. It is also to be given more repair capacities. As a deterrent, the EU wants to enforce sanctions and diplomatic measures against "hostile actors" using instruments to combat hybrid campaigns. According to the Commission, this also includes the promotion of "cable diplomacy" with global partners, i.e. a close unofficial exchange on threats.

Sabotage should be punished appropriately

The EU Commission and Kallas want to gradually implement the aforementioned steps this year and in 2026 together with the member states and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (Enisa). Among other things, the mapping of existing and planned submarine cables, a coordinated risk assessment and a toolbox for cable security with risk mitigation measures should be completed by the end of 2025. A priority list of cable projects of European interest is also planned by then.

There have been repeated cable breaks recently, particularly in the Baltic Sea, behind which Western observers suspect sabotage by ships from the Russian shadow fleet. According to Swedish authorities, the German-Finnish submarine data cable C-Lion 1 has just been damaged again. The cable connection running through the Baltic Sea was damaged off the island of Gotland. This is said to be no coincidence. Kallas emphasized: "Anyone found responsible for sabotage should be punished accordingly – also with sanctions. Would-be perpetrators must also be deterred."

(mma)