The European Commission is taking the Netherlands to court because it insufficiently protects vital sectors against attacks and sabotage from outside. This concerns energy, drinking water, hospitals and banking, among others. The Netherlands should have transposed European rules on this into national legislation by October 2024 at the latest, but missed that deadline.
EU raps the Netherlands over the knuckles for inadequate protection of vital sectors
The Netherlands is not the only country being called to account by Brussels. Bulgaria, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain and Sweden also missed the deadline. VVD Member of the European Parliament Bart Groothuis explains that legislation was introduced in 2024 to step up digital security, but also to strengthen the protection of vital infrastructure. 'To everyone's surprise, this is taking very long in the Netherlands', he says. According to him, countries such as Finland, where resilience is well organised, served as a reference. 'That is what these European rules attempt; only, member states have to transpose them into legislation themselves.'
Groothuis emphasises that the European directive is mainly aimed at large organisations, such as water companies. 'In western Sweden and in Finland, sabotage has already frequently been committed at water facilities. That can also happen in the Netherlands, which is why security really needs more attention here.'
'Worrying'
Michel Scholte, CEO of Resilt, which advises companies on resilience and collaboration, explains that the definition of resilience was established internationally long ago: 'That is preventing, preparing for, dealing with, adapting to and recovering from disruptions.' According to him, the Netherlands has endorsed that framework but does not really report on it. He says other countries do, and the Netherlands is lagging far behind. 'That is worrying.'
For example, he says, no records are kept of what happens during floods, such as in Limburg. Reporting emergencies is of great importance, he argues, because it concerns critical infrastructure. Groothuis cites the example of the North Sea. Although the importance of security there is now clearly recognised, implementation is fragmented, he says. 'A law first passes seven ministries that all want to have a say about the coast.' According to him, that is a lesson when it comes to resilience: it must be organised more tightly.
Scholte agrees. In his view, entrepreneurs cannot wait until every layer of government gets moving. 'Business associations must help the government. If we wait for all those layers of government, thousands of euros will genuinely be lost.' He says the bill will ultimately land with the Dutch if something goes wrong, and he calls for collective action.
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