EU proposes cyber, armed forces plans amid security concerns

"It affects us and we have to adapt our defence policies to this new environment." The Commission said Russian cyber attacks on European Union countries and their partners were a "wake-up" call. It said this plan would help EU countries and their partners transport troops and equipment more efficiently, work towards "better connected and protected infrastructure" and reinforce cooperation with the U.S.-led defence alliance NATO.

The European Commission on Thursday proposed two action plans to address the deteriorating security situation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine to bolster cyber defence and to allow armed forces to move faster and better across borders.

"War is back to our borders and the Russia aggression against Ukraine is undermining peace and the international rule-based system globally," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a news conference to announce the plans. "It affects us and we have to adapt our defence policies to this new environment."

The Commission said Russian cyber attacks on European Union countries and their partners were a "wake-up" call. More action was needed to protect citizens and armed forces, and cooperation with NATO should be stepped up, it said. The policy proposed would boost EU cyber defence capabilities and strengthen coordination and cooperation between the military and civilian cyber communities.

The initiative is part of a series of measures proposed by the European Commission in recent months to strengthen the bloc's cybersecurity resilience amid a spate of cyberattacks on governments and businesses worldwide. Last week EU cybersecurity agency ENISA said geopolitics such as the invasion of Ukraine has led to more damaging and widespread cybersecurity attacks in the EU in the year to July.

A separate Action Plan on Military Mobility proposed by the European Commission will help European armed forces to respond better, more rapidly and at sufficient scale to crises erupting at the EU's external borders and beyond. It said this plan would help EU countries and their partners transport troops and equipment more efficiently, work towards "better connected and protected infrastructure" and reinforce cooperation with the U.S.-led defence alliance NATO.