During its plenary session on 1 July, the European Committee of the Regions’ (CoR) discussed the role of cities and regions in reinforcing the resilience of critical entities.
Critical entities are operators of infrastructures that are essential for the functioning of our society and economy. Although the bulk of legislation in this field is set at EU or national level, local and regional authorities best know the territory and have major responsibilities protecting the areas in which critical infrastructures are located.
While the presence of critical infrastructure provides an opportunity for local development, it also poses a risk in the event of a disaster, with potentially serious impact on local communities, the environment and the economy.
” It is imperative that critical infrastructures are adequately protected against a wide spectrum of threats, be they natural or man-made, unintentional or with malicious intent. Critical entities must be resilient wherever and whenever disruptions appear. ” stated Mario Guarente, Mayor of Potenza and rapporteur of the opinion on the Resilience of Critical Entities.
Local leaders welcome the fact that the scope of the proposed directive has been substantially extended to cover energy, transport, health, drinking water, wastewater, digital infrastructure, public administration and space. As resilience concerns all levels of governance, coordination and good multilevel cross-sector collaboration for disaster preparedness, risk reduction and reinforcing resilience is crucial.
