The Changing Role of the EU in Cybersecurity

Abstract

Cyberspace poses a great challenge to the traditional governance, that is mainly
state-centric – it challenges the traditional concepts like security, borders, privacy
and sovereignty. Legal discussions about cyberspace governance often
focus on international cybercrime arrangements, international standards and
national sovereignty. Due to the globalisation and the interconnected nature of
cyberspace and the cross-border impacts of attacks, it has been made impossible
for any organisation to manage cyberspace and cyber threats without an
adequate level of cooperation with various partners and allies. This is especially
relevant in certain areas of national security, as well as in the Common
Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union.
But what does cybersecurity mean for the European Union and how its viewpoint
changed through the past decades? This paper analyses the EU acquis to
provide an overview on EU cybersecurity policy and to understand the challenges
EU currently facing as a cyber-actor.