Critical Entities Resilience Directive

Government officials, experts, and stakeholders from Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, and Sweden, as well as the European Commission and OECD discussed how to advance the implementation of the Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive during a study visit to Ireland, facilitated by the European Union’s TAIEX programme, in Autumn 2024.

The CER Directive requires EU Member States to ensure that essential services remain uninterrupted and resilient across vital sectors, even during disruptions such as natural disasters, cyber-attacks, and other threats, ensuring the continuity of essential services

The objective of the three-day event was to facilitate mutual learning and knowledge exchange among Department of Defence (IE), Government Office (EE) and Ministry of Interior (FI) – the main beneficiaries of the project ‘Integrating strategic risk systems to advance the resilience of critical entities’, funded by the EU’s Technical Support Instrument. The Ministry of Interior (Bulgaria) and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency were also invited to the event to allow wider group of stakeholders to share and compare functioning practices in national risk assessments and the overall national resilience framework. 

The participants presented and compared their risk management methodologies and practices, including the Irish National Risk Assessment process and the FUTUREPROOF-IE research project highlighting the importance of risk assessment in developing effective resilience strategies and providing valuable insights into the methodologies used to assess risks and the role of research in informing policy decisions.

The TAIEX event in Dublin assured countries on their path toward implementation of the CER Directive. The event provided a platform for sharing knowledge, discussing challenges, and identifying best practices. The participants agreed on the importance of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to resilience, involving government, industry, and other stakeholders. They also identified the need for continuous risk assessment and the integration of research findings into policy development while emphasising the value of bilateral and multilateral partnerships in enhancing resilience efforts.