The European Commission has adopted a list of essential services in eleven sectors that are covered by the Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER), which entered into force on 16th January 2023.
Critical entities provide essential services in upholding key societal functions, supporting the economy, ensuring public health and safety, and preserving the environment.
Member States will have to identify the critical entities for the sectors set out in the CER Directive by 17th July 2026. They will use this list of essential services to carry out risk assessments and to then identify the critical entities. Once identified, the critical entities will have to take measures to enhance their resilience.
List of essential services under the Critical Entities Resilience Directive
The eleven sectors that the European Commission has agreed to be covered by the CER Directive are:
- Energy
- Transport
- Banking
- Financial market infrastructure
- Health
- Drinking water
- Waste water
- Digital infrastructure
- Public administration sector
- Space sector
