Support in Eastern Partnership on EU Policy
About the initiative
The ‘Support in EaP on EU Policy’ initiative is co-financed by the German Foreign Office and the European Commission under the CyberEast+ project. Led by the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ) and supported by ECSO, the initiative aims to help stakeholders in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region – Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova, and Georgia – develop cyber governance strategies.
As cybersecurity is becoming an essential component of legislation across different topics and sectors, stakeholders increasingly need assistance navigating the regulatory landscape, prioritising actions and ensuring effective enforcement.
Within this framework, ECSO works towards enabling EaP actors to develop and implement policies aligned with the European Union legislation in the field of cybersecurity, with a particular focus on the NIS2 Directive.
A study trip to Brussels
A study trip took place in April 2025 with the objective of aligning Eastern Partnership countries’ national laws with the EU’s NIS2 Directive. Cybersecurity representatives from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine took part in in-depth exchanges with EU experts, exploring the political, legal, and operational dimensions of NIS2 implementation.
Participants discussed key topics such as the building of national compliance frameworks, definition of authority responsibilities, incident reporting management, legal harmonisation, and public-private cooperation. The trip also featured an interactive governance exercise designed by the Cyber Policy Haus. Special thanks to all participants and experts from the European External Actions Service, Permnanent Representation of Poland to the EU, Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium, CERT Polska and CERT.LV. Together, we can keep on strengthening cooperation and knowledge-sharing across the EU and its neighbours.
Objectives
Community development
Establish, develop, manage, and nurture a community of cybersecurity professionals encompassing EaP stakeholders while ensuring strong ties with EU counterparts.
Knowledge sharing
Facilitate the exchange of inputs and best practices between cybersecurity professionals.
Cybersecurity governance
Support involved professionals in addressing pressing questions and issues arising in their respective activities concerning cybersecurity policy development and implementation.
EU law approximation
Assist EaP countries in aligning national cybersecurity policies with EU legislation and standards, overcoming operational and structural challenges.
About ECSO
The European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO) is the pan-european, private-public federation (non–profit) developing Europe’s cybersecurity resilience and strategic autonomy. Established in 2016 as the European Commission’s contractual partner for the Public-Private Partnership in Cybersecurity, ECSO unites more than 320 stakeholders—including businesses of all sizes, public administrations, research centres and many more—and provides a platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing, visibility opportunities, industry advocacy, and further public-private collaboration.
