- DORA will drive innovation and build resilience against cyber-attacks -
“The adoption by the European Parliament of a new regulation on Digital Operational Resilience for the financial sector (DORA) will allow EU companies to embrace the digital revolution and help drive innovation, while ensuring the cyber resilience of our financial entities,” said the Parliament’s Rapporteur on this file, Billy Kelleher MEP.
Kelleher was speaking after the report was adopted with near unanimous support from nearly all political groups in the Parliament.
“DORA, along with its sister files, the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2) and the Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER), will provide the Union with a strong and legal framework for managing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) risk, preventing cyber-attacks against entities and combatting other incidents.
“We want to provide the EU’s financial sector with all the necessary safeguards against cyber-attacks and all the other potential risks it may face as a result of the interconnectedness of the sector and the increasing use of services provided by ICT third-party service providers.
“My priority from the start was to ensure that this new legal framework would be flexible, proportionate and future proof, and would not hinder the competitiveness of the EU. Indeed, the EU’s financial sector evolves very quickly and the EU's digital regulation should be ready to cope with innovation and future challenges.
“The establishment of a Joint Oversight Body as a means to improve the oversight of critical providers of ICT services to European financial institutions is an important step.
“As we all know, the financial services sector is becoming increasingly digitalised, and with these developments comes increased ICT risks. The negotiating position taken by Parliament this week strikes a balance between developing robust digital resilience in the sector and ensuring that innovation is not stifled and that the EU’s competitiveness is preserved.
“Both the financial services sector and the wider ICT sector play a major role in the Irish economy. I believe this legislation strikes the right balance between cyber-security and promoting EU competitiveness.
“The legislation has taken an ambitious step by using a two-pronged strategy to address ICT risk by identifying and managing risk at the ICT service provider level and also at the level of the financial entity itself.
“All political groups worked hard to find a consensus on DORA. The next steps, trilogues with Council and Commission, must maintain the momentum generated in Parliament. Citizens, consumers and industry expect a timely and efficient implementation of this important piece of legislation, concluded Kelleher.