Society today experiences an increasing dependence on digital services and new technological developments, such as the proliferation of interconnected devices or of the Cloud, which has brought the significance of cybersecurity to the fore. The European Union has given high attention over the last decade to the issue of European cybersecurity. For that reason, to strengthen European Cyber Resilience, the EU made a decision to establish the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre to support cybersecurity innovation and industrial policy. The location of the center was chosen by the European Council by a voting procedure on the list of cities. On December 9, 2020, this honor was given to Bucharest. The Competence Center of Bucharest became a vital instrument for investing in cybersecurity research, high-tech and innovation in Europe.
The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre’s main objective is to contribute to the increase of Europe’s cybersecurity capacities and competitiveness. This is done through work with a network of National Coordination Centres (NCCs) and the Cybersecurity Competence Community. This collaboration aims to build a strong and resilient cybersecurity infrastructure in Europe. In addition to that, the Competence Center of Bucharest implements cybersecurity-related financial support from Digital Europe programmes and Horizon Europe. It will also facilitate collaboration and the sharing of expertise and capacities among all relevant stakeholders, in particular the research and industrial communities, as well as public authorities, in the community.
An important event took place on June 23, 2022. The first Governing Board of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre held its first physical meeting in Bucharest. The significance of the event is based on the fact that previous meetings of the Board were conducted online due to the pandemic. This event enabled the Board to discuss the main goals of the Competence Centre of Bucharest as well as future plans for the development of European cyber resilience, as, for example,it was decided to have a new call for proposals in the cybersecurity domain under the Digital Europe Programme for over 140 MEUR. Such an initiative demonstrated the importance of the Centre within the European Union and its high potential to develop European cyber resilience and cybersecurity.
