Examination of the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Directive From the Maritime Point of View

Abstract

This article evaluates the implementation challenges of the Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive in comparison with the Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive and the Floods Directive (FD) within the European Union (EU). CER, which aims to enhance the resilience of critical entities, including critical maritime infrastructure, allows for considerable interpretative flexibility by Member States in defining critical entities and security measures. This flexibility could lead to heterogeneous impacts, introducing inconsistencies that hinder the functioning of the single market, and thereby resilience uniformity across the EU. In contrast, the FD's structured approach with clear objectives and detailed reporting requirements has led to a more consistent and effective implementation. This paper argues that the lack of specificity in the CER Directive may undermine its effectiveness. It suggests that adopting a more structured approach similar to the FD could improve the implementation consistency and resilience of critical entities across the EU.