Enhancing Cross-Border Risk Assessment for Critical Infrastructure: Challenges, Tools and Recommendations

The Directive on Resilience of Critical Entities (Directive (EU) 2022/2557) outlines that each Member State (MS) should carry out, within a harmonised framework, an assessment of the relevant natural and man-made risks, as well as those of a cross-sectoral or cross-border nature, that could affect the provision of essential services. The risk assessment by MSs should integrate a wide range of hazards, from accidents, natural disasters and public health emergencies tο hybrid threats or other antagonistic threats, including terrorist offences, criminal infiltration and sabotage (Art. 5). To facilitate the development of a cohesive framework across the EU, this analysis explores the complexities and challenges of conducting cross-border risk assessments for critical infrastructure (CI) and associated critical entities, from a conceptual perspective.