Critical Entities Resilience (CER) – Are you Ready?
In today’s BANI (Brittle-Anxious-Non-Linear-Incomprehensible) world, the resilience of essential services is critical to safeguarding Europe’s social and economic stability.
To address growing physical threats, including terrorism, sabotage, and natural disasters, the European Union has introduced the Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive. Complementing key regulations such as NIS2 (Network and Information Systems Directive) and DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act), the CER Directive reinforces the EU’s commitment to protecting vital infrastructure and strengthening collective resilience across public and private sectors, taking an all-hazard approach.
The countdown has begun. Belgium has officially implemented a landmark law on the resilience of critical entities, transposing EU CER Directive 2022/2557 into national legislation. If your organization operates in one of the below sectors, this is not a future concern —it’s an immediate priority.
- Banking
- Financial market infrastructure
- Digital infrastructure
- Transport
- Energy
- Health
- Drinking water
- Wastewater
- Public administration
- Space
- Production, processing and distribution of foods
As a sectoral authority, by 17 July 2026, you will designate within your respective sector, critical entities. The Belgian transposition of the CER Directive introduces a set of mandatory obligations for designated critical entities, focusing on the continuity of essential services through proactive risk management and resilience planning.
As a critical entity, understanding these core requirements is the first step towards building a robust compliance framework.
Below are the definitions:
- Resilience = a critical entity’s ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, resist, mitigate, absorb, accommodate and recover from an incident.
- Critical Entity = a public or private entity designated by a Member State that provides an essential service.
- Essential Service = a service which is crucial for the maintenance of vital societal functions, economic activities, public health and safety, or the environment.
- Critical Infrastructure = an asset, a facility, equipment, a network or a system, or a part of an asset, which is necessary for the provision of an essential service.
