Conclusions of the 1st EU-US Cyber Dialogue
On the
occasion of the inaugural meeting of the EU-US Cyber Dialogue on 5 December
2014, EU and US representatives met in Brussels to discuss several foreign
policy-related cyber issues:
International Security in Cyberspace
The
participants welcomed the landmark consensus of the 2012-2013 Group of
Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and
Telecommunications in the Context of International Security, including its
affirmation of the applicability of existing international law to cyberspace.
The two sides welcomed the confidence building measures agreed in the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and their implementation in
order to build confidence and reduce the prospects for conflict in cyberspace.
They commended efforts to expand similar efforts in other regional fora such as
the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Organization for American States.
Internet Governance Developments in 2015
The two
sides reiterated that no single entity, company, organisation or government
should seek to control the Internet, and expressed their full support for
multi-stakeholder governance structures of the Internet that are inclusive,
transparent, accountable and technically sound.
As
such, the EU and US representatives:
- emphasised the value of the
annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and encouraging its ongoing
improvements in line with the UN Commission on Science and Technology for
Development recommendations. Urged renewal of the IGF’s
mandate and the continuation of its work, according to paragraph 72 of The
Tunis Agenda, beyond the end of its current mandate in 2015.
- recognised the importance of
the NETmundial Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet
Governance hosted by Brazil in April 2014 which set common principles and
important values for an inclusive, multistakeholder and evolving
governance framework. Both sides are committed to implementing the
NETmundial roadmap.
- welcomed the multi-stakeholder
community’s engagement on efforts to address accountability of the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and
transitioning the stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
(IANA), recognising the positive progress of these two interrelated
initiatives.
US-EU Cyber Related Work Streams
The two
sides welcomed the continued cooperation through the existing US-EU Working
Group on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime and highlighted cooperation occurring in
the following key areas:
Cybersecurity:
- On public-private partnerships,
they noted the preliminary workshop held in November 2014 comparing US
Cybersecurity Framework and EU NIS Platform approaches to cybersecurity
risk management and voluntary information sharing. Participants
highlighted the opportunity for future work to foster common approaches
and best practices to cybersecurity risk management.
- On awareness raising, they
highlighted the successful conclusion of the synchronised US-EU
cybersecurity awareness raising month in October 2014, noted the progress
made in awareness raising cooperation through the Working Group, and
looked forward to further cooperation in this area.
- The two sides noted the
opportunity for further collaboration among the US, EU, and member states
on cyber incident management and considered a joint activity with the aim
of enhancing cooperation in case of global cyber-incidents, building upon
the lessons learned from the US-EU CyberAtlantic 2011 exercise, national
exercises, and operational experience.
Cybercrime:
- The Global Alliance Against
Child Sexual Abuse Online has consolidated, grown larger and gained new
momentum as noted in the Ministerial Conference held in Washington on
29-30 September 2014 and its ambitious Ministerial Statement. The EU and
US will continue to work together to ensure this initiative is effective
and intensify cooperation to tackle jointly the issues presented by
transnational child sex offenders, following the mandate given at the
EU-US Summit this year
- The two sides affirmed their
commitment to promote the Budapest Convention as the reference framework
for the fight against cybercrime, including by working together in
international fora. We welcome the most recent signatories in 2014:
Luxembourg, Turkey and Panama.
- The EU and US will also
proactively work with Internet organisations (such as ICANN and the
Regional Internet Registries) to engage their support and
cooperation infurthering greater security and stability on the
Internet and to address cybercrime challenges.
Upcoming cyber events
The two
sides look forward to the UN General Assembly ten-year review of the World
Summit on the Information Society in 2015. They both believe that the
timing of the review is appropriate as the UN General Assembly will be
finalising a post-2015 development agenda, and the review will build on efforts
to continue bridging the digital divide. The General Assembly’s
recognition and allowance for multistakeholder participation in the review was
appreciated, and participation from all stakeholders is strongly encouraged and
welcomed.
With the
increasing relevance that cyber issues play in the overall society, the EU and
US representatives welcomed the upcoming Global Conference on Cyberspace in The
Hague in April 2015 and the annual Freedom Online (Coalition) Conference in
Mongolia in May 2015.
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Online
The EU and
US reaffirmed their strong commitment to the promotion and protection of human
rights. They emphasised that all human beings have the same human rights online
and offline and that states have an obligation to protect those rights in
accordance with international law. In particular, the rights to freedom of
expression and privacy, as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, in the digital sphere require the attention of all
stakeholders.
Global Cyber Capacity Building
Both sides
emphasised the importance of bridging the digital divide towards fostering open
societies and enabling economic growth and social development.They reiterated
their commitment to an approach to cyber capacity building that leverages the
expertise and resources of all stakeholders to ensure that people around the
world can fully benefit from the Internet and ICTs. They welcomed further
coordination among actors globally and agreed to continue exchanging views and
good practices, as well as to seek future synergies in their respective global
cyber capacity building initiatives.
The chairs
agreed that they will continue their collaborative efforts and convene the
US-EU Cyber Dialogue again in approximately one year’s time in Washington, DC.
