CYBER SECURITY : ENISA: CONSENSUS ON SEVEN-YEAR MANDATE.

The mandate of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) is set to be extended to a seven-year period as well as being reinforced. The European Parliament and the Irish Presidency - negotiating in the name of the Council - reached a political compromise, on 29 January, on the reform of the agency, whose mandate expires on 13 September 2013. The compromise was reached only a few days before the European Commission presents its EU cyber security strategy (comprehensive communication). As for the Council, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) will vote on this political agreement in its 1 February meeting. It is Europolitics' information society understanding that Coreper will not oppose it. The EP looks set to endorse the Commission's communication in its Strasbourg plenary session in April.

ENISA was established in March 2004 (Regulation 460/2004), its global aim being to reinforce the ability of the EU (private and public sectors) to prevent, react to and manage problems linked to communication networks and information systems, such as computers. ENISA's mandate was set at five years and has been extended to September 2013.

In September 2010, the Commission proposed a regulation recast to redefine the agency's mandate. On top of a new five-year mandate, the EU executive is proposing to reinforce and modernise the agency (adapting its field of action to new challenges in terms of network security and information systems).

DURATION

The duration of the mandate was one of the most controversial issues in negotiations. On the Council's side, certain member states supported an unlimited period, while others staunchly argued in favour of the Commission's initial proposal to limit the mandate to five years in order for it to be more efficient, saying an indefinite mandate would not be appropriate given the constant evolution in the field. Sources confirmed that the EP and the Council ended up agreeing on a seven-year mandate (as proposed by MEPs) and this mandate will be reviewed at the end of this period. The parties also...