Spain hosts the 8th Governing Board meeting of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC)

The Spanish National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE), an organization under the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service and represented by the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, hosts the 8th Governing Board meeting of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC)  and its network of National Coordination Centres (NCC), which is taking place from 13th to 15th  March in San Sebastian, Spain. 

The ECCC is the engine for the implementation of Europe’s strategy in research, innovation, and industrial policy in the area of cybersecurity, by setting a common European agenda for technology development and coordinating joint investments in strategic cybersecurity projects. In 2021, INCIBE was appointed as the Spain's National Coordination Centre for this European network. 

The network meeting agenda includes exchanging experiences and actions to enhance the participation of national cybersecurity ecosystems in European funding programmes. It also focuses on identifing priorities in areas such as the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) and sharing best practices related to financial support for third parties (FSTP). 

The 8th ECCC Governing Board meeting is taking place on 14-15 March 2024, following the NCC network meeting. This is the first meeting attended by Luca Tagliaretti, the ECCC Executive Director, since taking office on 1 February 2024. On Thursday, the Governing Board discussed the ECCC Annual Activity Report 2023 and adopted decisions on internal governance.  Additionally, there was a discussion on cybersecurity priorities outlined in the Digital Europe Programme (DEP). This includes an active call for investment of 84 million euros, which is open until 26 March.

On the occasion of this meeting, on Monday, 11 March, Luca Tagliaretti visited INCIBE's headquarters in León, posting the following message on his social networks: "Congratulations to INCIBE for the impressive work in the cyberspace for protecting critical infrastructures, companies and all citizens. Loved in particular how the 017 hotline is helping Spanish citizens (especially minors) against cybercrime".

In addition, the Deputy for Mobility, Tourism and Territorial Planning, Azahara Domínguez, received the Governing Board of the European Commission's European Cyber Security Competence Centre (ECCC) at the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa. 

INCIBE as NCC-ES

INCIBE was designated as Spain's National Coordination Centre. It is one of the 27 national coordination centres of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre.
In this new role, INCIBE serves as a national point of contact and coordination to support the competence centre in its mission and objectives. It also works with other competent agents, industry, the public sector, the academic and research community, and the public, while considering the challenges in cybersecurity. 

As the National Coordination Centre (NCC-ES), INCIBE aims to establish EU-funded cross-border projects and joint actions. These projects will benefit the national productive fabric through instruments such as cascade funding. This provides technical and financial support, especially to SMEs, facilitating access to knowledge, connecting to potential markets and accessing funding. This allows for the development of a connected cybersecurity research and industrial network across the EU.