Sovereignty: EU invests 347 million euros in security of submarine cables
The EU Commission upgrades defenses against sabotage and espionage targeting key undersea data arteries with a new strategic toolkit and investments.
Ship for inspecting underwater cables.
(Image: Korn Srirawan/Shutterstock.com)
Following new, apparently deliberately caused damage to submarine cables in the Baltic Sea, the EU Commission launched a comprehensive security offensive on Thursday. The goal is to protect the digital infrastructure on the seabed from increasing risks and intentional sabotage. As around 99 percent of intercontinental internet traffic is handled via submarine cables, the EU classifies these connections as essential for the modern economy and daily life.
Considering the unstable geopolitical situation, the Brussels-based governing institution is responding with a package of immediate financial measures and new strategic guidelines. This aims to strengthen the resilience of Europe's "nervous system" for data and energy.
At the heart of the initiative, which builds on a previous action plan, is the adaptation of the Connecting Europe Facility in the digital sector. This will provide a total of 347 million euros for strategic submarine cable projects. According to the plan, the funds will be used to make the networks crisis-proof and technologically upgrade them. Part of the funds, around 20 million euros, is earmarked for equipping cables with intelligent functions. These are integrated sensors that capture seismic activities and oceanic data in real-time. This will enable the infrastructure to function as a monitoring system for the seabed simultaneously.
Quick help with sabotage: Repair modules for the seas
In parallel, the EU is investing in recovery capabilities after physical damage. A newly published call for proposals worth 20 million euros is funding the development of adaptable repair modules that can be strategically stationed in ports or shipyards. This will drastically reduce downtime after damage, thereby safeguarding digital sovereignty.
A pilot project for these repair units will start in the Baltic Sea. This region has been prioritized due to the frequent cable destructions in recent years, where targeted hostile acts are suspected. This funding stream is explicitly reserved for public entities with a mandate for emergency response, such as civil protection, national crisis agencies, the coast guard, or the navy. This underscores the security policy nature of the measure, which goes far beyond purely economic promotion.
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Toolkit for cable security
The investments are flanked by a new toolkit for cable security. This toolbox contains six strategic and four technical support measures agreed upon by the Commission and the Member States. They are based on a risk analysis from autumn 2025, which identified various threat scenarios, vulnerabilities, and dependencies of the European infrastructure. The instruments included aim to minimize the identified dangers through coordinated defense mechanisms.
The strategic part focuses on cross-border cooperation. For example, harmonized security standards for the approval and maintenance of cables are to be created, and information exchange between Member States is to be strengthened. Uniform criteria for the reliability of suppliers are to be established, and dependence on third countries for critical components is to be reduced. The coordination of national authorities in monitoring the maritime area is also part of this level.
In the technical area, the toolkit includes actions such as the implementation of advanced encryption technologies directly at cable landing stations and the promotion of systems for early detection of physical tampering. Furthermore, EU countries are to be enabled to modernize their national surveillance capabilities. The focus here is on maintaining not only physical integrity but also the confidentiality of the transmitted data streams.
Long-term plan until 2040
In addition, the Commission has established a list of 13 priority project areas of European interest. Funding for these strategic areas is planned in three phases until 2040 to ensure long-term planning security. These areas will be given priority in future calls for proposals to specifically strengthen the resilience of submarine cables where vulnerability is greatest.
With this initiative, the EU now has a common approach to proactively address risks to submarine cables and permanently secure the resilience of the interconnected society, emphasized Henna Virkkunen, Vice-President of the Commission for Technological Sovereignty. It is about more than just securing fast internet connections.
(vbr)
