The European Commission has proposed to establish a new EU Critical Communication System to provide Europe’s first responders with secure and resilient communication channels in crisis situations.
Relying on critical components built by European companies, the new system will enables seamless and stable real-time communication between all first responders, at all times and across all EU borders, even where terrestrial communication systems are unavailable.
Increasing fires, floods, storms and drone threats to critical infrastructure or terrorist attacks mean there is a need for an effective and well-coordinated response from our police, firefighters, medical services and civil protection teams, says the EU executive. The ‘European Union Critical Communication System’ will allow first responders to communicate across services and across borders, and to share photos, videos and sound and communicate in a faster and more secure way, both at national level and across Europe.
- All Member States will gradually move from narrowband radio systems to broadband technology such as 5G, while EU satellites provide additional back-up for situations when land-bound systems are incapacitated, such as during blackouts.
- The EUCCS will enable first responders to share data, video, messages and geolocation in real-time through a single secure device.
The system is designed to remain secure, available and resilient all the time, giving priority to first responders, even when the mobile network is saturated or disrupted. Where no mobile network is available, the system will benefit from the back-up support of EU satellites, as well as from mobile deployable communication units that can restore connectivity for emergency coordination in case of crisis.
The system will be secure, protected against cyber and hybrid attacks using encryption, and a strong protocol. It will be supported by two dedicated entities:
- A European Union Network Monitoring Centre which will provide a secure and resilient optical fibre network, allowing countries to connect through one central point instead of building many separate links with each other.
- A European Union Security Monitoring Centre which will track cyber security risks, assess threats and support Member States.
The proposal provides Member States with a new European-built solution, reducing reliance on foreign technologies and strengthening European tech sovereignty. It puts the EU’s security-by-design approach into practice, ensuring that security is considered from the outset in the systems that are developed:
- The system’s critical components (including satellites, the core mobile network, and the mobile broadband technology used) are developed by European companies.
- It makes national investment in critical communication more attractive for Member States, by greatly increasing the reach of the critical communication system from a regional or national tool to one that covers the entire EU and the Schengen Associated Countries and that can serve for coordination across many more services.
- The system is also designed to adapt to the continuous innovation in critical communication and commercial electronic communications. The Commission will support Member States in cooperating with industry and research organisations to ensure the continuous innovation of critical communication in the EU.
Proposal to establish a European Union Critical Communication System
