POSITION | SECURITY POLICY | EU STRATEGY 2025
European Internal Security Strategy German industry’s call for an integrated approach to enhance Europe’s resilience by strategically cooperating with industry.
March 12, 2025 The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine as well as other current geopolitical developments require Europe to significantly adapt its security policy. Every day, Europe is the target of digital, hybrid and physical attacks – both from criminal and state actors – without officially being at war. Security cannot be guaranteed by the armed forces and security authorities of EU Member States alone. Rather, security encompasses the entire resilience of the state, economy and society. This also includes securing the supply with critical services and uninterrupted value chains – and therefore, also protecting companies from attacks, whether digital or analogue. Europe's current security architecture is based on an outdated dual concept: internal and external security, war and peace, digital and physical. The EU’s second Network and Information Security (NIS 2) and the Critical Entities Resilience Directive are good examples of this outdated understanding. Rather than providing for an integrated security concept, these directives artificially separate the protection against digital and physical threat vectors. This model does not reflect the hybrid threat situation in which we find ourselves today – and which requires an integrated security strategy. When drafting its European Internal Security Strategy, the EU Commission must overcome this duality and must focus on cooperation. Cooperation between the EU Member States, the EU and its international partners as well as between industry and public institutions – both at EU and national level – is paramount.
Fit for purpose? German industry’s six recommendations for a holistic European Internal Security Strategy BDI very much appreciates the possibility to provide input to the European Commission’s consultation. The European Commission should consider the following six recommendations when drafting the European Internal Security Strategy: 1. Enhancing Europe’s resilience requires implementation rather than strategies 2. Establishing an effective and lean regulatory framework to protect critical infrastructures and industry 3. Involving Europe’s industry as a key pillar of Europe’s security architecture 4. Providing up-to-date threat information 5. Strengthening the resilience of Europe’s digital networks – on land, under water and in space 6. Promoting the long-term resilience of Europe’s critical infrastructures and fostering innovation in Europe Federation of German Industries (BDI) | www.bdi.eu German Lobbyregister Number: R000534 | EU Transparency Register: 1771817758-48 Steven Heckler (s.heckler@bdi.eu) | Kerstin Petretto (k.petretto@bdi.eu) | Philipp Schweikle (p.schweikle@bdi.eu)