Share the page
Cyber Resilience: What Role for International Cooperation Actors?
-
When
-
-
Schedule
-
3:30 to 5pm (Helsinki time)
Watch the replay of our latest #RDVExpertise event from 4 February 2026 and follow the fascinating discussions on the challenges of cybersecurity for critical infrastructure and cyber resilience in our societies.
Faced with the continuous expansion of cyber threats, Europe has placed cybersecurity at the heart of its strategic priorities. Critical infrastructure, information networks and digital environments have become the scene of invisible but crucial conflicts: sabotage, cyberattacks and foreign interference. Attacks on submarine cables, data centres and public communication networks reveal that digital security remains dependent on physical and human infrastructure that is not sufficiently protected.
To address these challenges, the European Union promotes an open, collaborative and sovereign cybersecurity strategy, in line with its democratic principles. Through its cybersecurity policy and the Global Gateway initiative, the European Union seeks to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure, public institutions and companies, while improving its ability to collaborate digitally with its international allies. In this context, public technical cooperation plays a central role. Development cooperation agencies, grouped together in the Practitioners Network and the Digital for Development Hub, have a fundamental role to play in both improving infrastructure security and developing digital skills within partner administrations.
Further reading
Cooperating to build cyber resilient societies
Organised in partnership with HAUS (Finnish Institute of Public Management, Finland), Expertise France has brought together private sector actors, cybersecurity experts, diplomatic advisers, cyber project managers, researchers and journalists for a new edition of Rendez-vous de l'Expertise to foster dialogue and share perspectives from the Nordic, Baltic and Western European regions on the creation of a safe and democratic cyberspace.
The first round table brought together four experts to discuss the issue of cybersecurity of critical infrastructure. Participants included Jean-Marie Chenou, cybersecurity expert at Expertise France on the EU-Latin America and Caribbean Digital Alliance (EU-LAC) programme, Maxime Lebrun, researcher at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, Jaakko Wallenius, Vice-President of Resilience and Defence at Elisa, and Dr Anssi Kärkkäinen, Director General of the Finnish National Cyber Security Centre (Traficom).
The second round table focused on the development of cyber-resilient societies, placing citizens at the heart of digital strategies. Kristel-Amelie Aimre, advisor on digital diplomacy and cyber diplomacy at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denis Boyer, risk awareness officer at cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, Markus Holmgren, Associate Researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), and Marianne Lindroth, Project Manager at the Cyber Citizen Initiative, discussed the levers for building inclusive resilience: transparency towards citizens, strengthening public-private partnerships, and designing solutions that are accessible to all.
Ahead of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, watch the replay live from Helsinki!
I think the key is to stop treating innovation, data protection and resilience as separate objectives. In practice, they only work if they are designed together from the outset. This saves resources and facilitates trust in the long term.
- Advisor on Digital and Cyber Diplomacy at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Resources to download
our projects
Strengthening cybersecurity capabilities in Ukraine
Ongoing
2024 - 2026
Funders : Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France
