The European Commission has presented an Action Plan on Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) aimed at promoting the safe and responsible use of advanced AI while strengthening the European Union’s cybersecurity resilience. The initiative brings together Member States, industry and EU organisations to address the risks posed by advanced AI models and unlock their potential for protecting Europe’s digital infrastructure.

The Action Plan focuses on three key priorities: promoting the safe and responsible use of advanced AI, strengthening the EU’s cybersecurity, and scaling up Europe’s AI capabilities for cybersecurity.

To support the implementation of the AI Act, the Commission will establish a dedicated European AI evaluation capacity by 2027 to independently assess advanced AI models, their capabilities and associated cybersecurity risks before they are deployed on the EU market.

Working with the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), the Commission will also develop a European blueprint for structured access to advanced AI systems, enabling public authorities and private organisations to use cutting-edge AI tools for cybersecurity purposes.

ENISA and the Commission’s Joint Research Centre will create a secure testing platform where organisations from critical sectors—including energy, finance, healthcare, transport and public administration—can safely test and deploy AI-powered cybersecurity solutions in simulated environments.

The Action Plan encourages organisations to make greater use of AI, including open-source models where appropriate, to detect vulnerabilities more quickly, improve cyber resilience and respond more effectively to cyberattacks. It also reinforces the implementation of existing EU cybersecurity legislation, including the NIS2 Directive and the Cyber Resilience Act.

To strengthen Europe’s technological leadership, the Commission will launch the EU Grand Challenge on AI for Cybersecurity, bringing together companies, researchers and cybersecurity experts to develop innovative AI-driven security solutions. The EU will continue investing in sovereign AI capabilities through initiatives such as AI Factories and future Gigafactories, while encouraging private investment to accelerate the growth of Europe’s AI ecosystem.

The Action Plan complements the EU’s broader cybersecurity and AI framework, including the AI Act, the Cyber Resilience Act, the NIS2 Directive, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the Cyber Solidarity Act, with the objective of ensuring Europe can harness the benefits of AI while remaining resilient against emerging cyber threats.