NATO, EU unveil task force on resilience, critical infrastructure

ANKARA

NATO and the EU on Wednesday agreed to establish a joint task force on “resilience and critical infrastructure protection.”

The core aim of the task force will be making “our critical infrastructure, technology and supply chains more resilient to potential threats and to take action to mitigate potential vulnerabilities,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels.

On the Ukraine conflict, he said NATO and EU “support makes a real difference in the ground,” stressing that they “should do even more at this critical juncture of the war.”

Von der Leyen said EU-NATO cooperation “has only deepened and grown … (and) we are now taking our partnership to a next level.”

“Of course, this happens against the backdrop of an increasing geopolitical competition. We know that our adversaries and our competitors are using all possible tools to challenge us and to undermine our security,” she said.

“That is why it is so important that we stand together and strengthen our resilience overall.”​​​​​​​