On 8 December 2022, the Council of the EU adopted a Recommendation on a Union-wide coordinated approach to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure. It urges Member States to enhance preparedness and response against current threats, both by anticipating certain elements of the Critical Entities Resilience Directive and by making use of additional instruments in a coordinated manner.

The recommendation calls on Member States to accelerate their work to protect critical infrastructure in three priority areas: preparedness, response and international cooperation. To enhance preparedness, the recommendation invites Member States to update their risk assessments to reflect current threats and to conduct stress tests based on common principles and joint scenarios at EU level, starting with the energy sector. On the response side, it calls for the development of a Blueprint for a coordinated response to disruptions of critical infrastructure with significant cross-border relevance. Strengthening international cooperation with NATO and key partner countries will help address risks and incidents with significant cross-border relevance.