Source: European Parliament
The Commission is fully committed to ensuring that the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 (the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA))[1] is tailored to the needs of companies, and in particular micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups (henceforth, SMEs).
Under the Digital Europe Programme, the Commission finances a range of projects aimed at actively supporting SMEs, including the ‘SECURE’ project[2], which will provide up to EUR 16.5 million of financial support to SMEs, the ‘Cyberstand.eu’ project[3] to raise awareness and fund more than 200 EU cybersecurity experts to work on harmonised standards, as well as projects focused on the development of automated tools to ease compliance.
Additionally, the Commission intends to provide guidance to assist with the implementation of the CRA, with a specific focus on SMEs. In line with Article 33(5), the Commission will also adopt a simplified technical documentation form targeted at the needs of microenterprises and small enterprises, to alleviate the administrative compliance burden.
The Commission has also established an informal expert group, where SMEs are represented, that will assist with the implementation of the CRA[4]. An administrative cooperation group of national market surveillance authorities will also be set up, to promote best practices and ensure the uniform application of the regulation. In accordance with Article 33, Member States should also, where appropriate, put in place support actions tailored to the needs of microenterprises and small enterprises.
Finally, European Digital Innovation Hubs will also provide support to SMEs, offering one-stop shops that will assist companies to respond to digital challenges and to become more competitive[5].
- [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2847/oj/eng.
- [2] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/projects-details/43152860/101190325 and https://secure4sme.eu/.
- [3] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/projects-details/43152860/101158521 and https://cyberstand.eu/.
- [4] https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=3967.
- [5] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/edihs.