Brussels, 3 June 2025
Chair:
- Krzysztof Gawkowski, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs
Commission representatives:
- Henna Virkkunen (Commissioner for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy)
Ministers for telecommunications meet in Luxembourg on Friday 6 June 2025. The meeting will begin at 9:30.
First, ministers will adopt a Council recommendation on an EU Blueprint for cyber crisis management, which aims at presenting the EU’s cyber crisis management framework in a clear, simple and accessible manner and provides guidance for the EU’s response to large-scale cybersecurity incidents or cyber crises.
The Council will then move to the approval of conclusions on reliable and resilient connectivity. The conclusions make an inventory of possible measures to enhance network resilience.
Next, telecom ministers will hold an exchange of views on the growing importance of satellite connectivity for the EU’s strategic autonomy.
After this exchange of views, an informal lunch will be held on the theme of mobilising investments for AI Gigafactories.
In the afternoon, ministers will turn to the issues under ‘any other business’. The Commission will inform ministers on the state of play of roaming with Ukraine and Moldova, the European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers, international initiatives in the digital field and the future of the Postal Services Directive.
The Presidency will inform the Council on the outcome of the discussions on simplification activities in the digital field, the outcomes from a workshop on strengthening the collaboration between the EU and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and an overview of Presidency events in the field of telecommunications and digital.
Several delegations will also inform ministers on: protecting minors from online harms and risks (EL, FR & ES), the Digital ministers of the Mediterranean EU countries meeting (SI), the Global Partnership on AI Summit (SK), a call on common actions in response to jamming and spoofing threats for Global Satellite Navigation Systems (GNSS) (LT, DK, EE, FI, DE, LV, SV, ES), Spain’s Quantum Technologies Strategy (ES), AI and follow-up of the AI Action Summit (FR) and Digital Sovereignty (AT). Finally, the incoming Danish Presidency will present its work programme.
EU Blueprint on cyber crisis management
In public session
Ministers will aim to adopt a Council recommendation on an EU Blueprint on cyber crisis management. The recommendation, put forward by the European Commission on the 24th of February 2025, aims to enhance the EU’s ability to effectively respond to and manage large-scale cyber incidents and crises.
It presents the EU’s cyber crisis management framework in a clear, simple and accessible manner and wants to be an important guideline for member states to enhance their preparedness, detection capabilities and response to cyber security incidents, while building on the foundations laid by the 2017 Cybersecurity Blueprint.
Since 2017, the EU’s cybersecurity framework changed significantly with several instruments considering cybersecurity management, such as the NIS2 directive or the Cyber Solidarity Act. This required changing the 2017 Blueprint.
Exploratory discussions on the Blueprint started under the Hungarian Presidency but were intensified during the Polish Presidency. Discussions on the Blueprint also took place at the informal TTE Council on 4-5 March in Warsaw, which was entirely dedicated to the issue of cybersecurity.
The Presidency significantly amended the Commission proposal and introduced a new structure in the recommendation. The operative part of the text was significantly strengthened and enlarged to ensure greater clarity:
- a chapter with definitions was added,
- three levels of collaboration (technical, operational and political) were introduced in the chapters on preparing and responding to cybersecurity incidents and cyber crisis,
- the specific role of the Integrated Political Crisis Response mechanism (IPCR) and its full or partial activation were clarified,
- a chapter on public communication efforts was added,
- the recovery chapter was expanded to include provisions on lessons learned and
- a new chapter with final provisions was added, covering implementing guidelines and introducing a review clause.
Further information
- Cyber Blueprint – Draft Council Recommendation (Publication, European Commission, 24 February 2025)
- Commission launches new cybersecurity blueprint to enhance EU cyber crisis coordination (Press release, European Commission, 24 February 2025)
- Cybersecurity (background information)
- Cyber defence (background information)
Reliable and resilient connectivity
In public session
Ministers will aim to approve conclusions on reliable and resilient connectivity. The Polish Presidency presented its first draft in the Working Party for Telecommunications and Information Society on January 21st 2025.
In recent years, European connectivity has been subject to unprecedented challenges. While national security remains a responsibility of the member states, a comprehensive, strategic approach to the development of the European connectivity infrastructure is essential to address those challenges.
The conclusions therefore make an inventory of possible measures to enhance network resilience, such as network type diversification, interoperability, or the role of the Single Market to mobilise investments. The text puts a strong emphasis on measures related to satellite as well as submarine infrastructure elements.
Satellite connectivity & strategic autonomy
Ministers will hold an exchange of views on satellite connectivity as a building block for strategic autonomy.
In the current geopolitical situation, connectivity is a growingly important aspect of Europe’s strategic autonomy. Various systems, such as space systems, submarine cables, fixed networks, and mobile infrastructure, ensure this connectivity and ask for a comprehensive approach, so to increase the resilience of the EU’s networks.
Connectivity via various satellite services is an important pillar of this resilience. While the EU’s focus has been primarily on terrestrial infrastructures (e.g. 4G/5G, fibre), technological breakthroughs have reduced costs of building and launching satellites.
Satellite connectivity plays an increasingly important role in ensuring affordable broadband internet access in remote areas, as well as services for security, resilience, crisis management, defence, and other critical applications, thanks to its independence from land-based energy supply and other disruptions.
Ministers will explore ways to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy in satellite communications. On the basis of the following three guiding questions, member states will be asked to provide input during the discussion:
- What role do ministers see for satellite infrastructure in ensuring Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy, taking into account its evolution in the near future?
- How can harmonised market access and enforcement rules support both innovation and strategic autonomy, and ensure that all players respect rules?
- What specific measures should the EU take to strengthen its technological independence in satellite connectivity?
Further information
- Council and European Parliament agree on boosting secure communications with a new satellite system (Press release, 17 November 2022)
- Space traffic management (background information)
- EU space policy (background information)
Any other business
Under ‘other business’, ministers will receive information on the following topics (all in public session, except for the Danish information item):
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- Information item from the Commission on the future of the Postal Services Directive
- State of play on roaming with Ukraine and Moldova (presentation by the Commission)
- Information by the Commission on the European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers
- Information by the Presidency on the outcomes of the discussions on simplification activities in the digital field
- State of play on international initiatives in the digital field (information from the Commission)
- Main outcomes of the workshop ‘Brussels-Geneva Interlinks: Strengthening cooperation between EU and ITU’ (information from the Presidency)
- A call for common actions in response to Global Satellite Navigation Systems (GNSS) jamming and spoofing threats (information item from Lithuania, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Slovenia and Spain)
- Protecting minors from online harms and risks: age verification, age-appropriate design and a pan-European digital age of majority (information item from Greece, France and Spain)
- Report of the Digital Ministers of the Mediterranean EU countries meeting (MED9) (information item from Slovenia)
- Spain’s Quantum Technologies Strategy (2025-2030) (information item by Spain)
- An outlook on the Global Partnership on AI Summit (information item by Slovakia)
- AI and follow-up of the AI Action Summit (information item by France)
- Overview by the Presidency on events in the field of telecommunications and digital
- Digital sovereignty (information item by Austria)
- Work programme of the incoming Danish Presidency (by Denmark)
Source – EU Council