EU-Wide Advantages and Opportunities for NCC-LU-S (Call Identifier: LU-CID-2024-02)

1. Single Market Access – 450 + Million Consumers

• Cybersecurity solutions, training services and certification schemes developed under this call can be commercialised or deployed in all 27 Member States without customs or tariff barriers.

• Luxembourg-based participants gain instant credibility and visibility by operating under an EU-funded NCC, easing market entry for ancillary products (e.g. SOC tools, cyber-range platforms) across the Single Market.

• SMEs benefit from the ‘once-only’ principle (eIDAS, NIS2), reducing administrative burden when scaling their services EU-wide.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• The NCC network is designed for multinational consortia: the call explicitly encourages links with other National Coordination Centres plus the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) in Bucharest.

• Access joint cyber-range infrastructures, threat-intelligence feeds and training curricula from partners in DE, FR, NL, etc., accelerating technology readiness levels (TRLs).

• Facilitates staff exchanges and joint PhDs via the Digital Europe Programme’s specialised education actions, fostering a pan-EU talent pipeline.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Strategies

• Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) – core objective: strengthen EU’s cybersecurity capacities; projects fully match the programme’s Key Result Indicators.

• EU Cybersecurity Strategy 2020 – establishes NCC network and ECCC; this call operationalises the strategy.

• European Green Deal – energy-efficient data-centre best practices integrated into NCC infrastructure contribute to sustainability targets.

• European Data Strategy & GAIA-X – NCC-LU can host secure data spaces for cross-sectoral cyber analytics, reinforcing trusted data sharing.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• Supports implementation of the NIS2 Directive by providing harmonised incident-response capabilities and certification pathways.

• Early alignment with forthcoming EU Cyber-Resilience Act helps participants anticipate compliance requirements, turning regulation into a competitive advantage.

• Participation provides direct feedback channels to ENISA and DG CONNECT, influencing future EU standards.

5. Access to the EU Innovation Ecosystem

• Direct links to 2 000+ Horizon Europe cybersecurity projects via the ECCC Knowledge Hub – ideal for technology transfer.

• Proximity to the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) in Luxembourg enables integration of supercomputing resources for large-scale cyber-range simulations.

• Collaboration opportunities with EIT Digital, EIT Manufacturing and university networks (Timmerman Institute, CLUSTER, etc.) expand R&D reach.

6. Funding Synergies & Leverage Potential

• Combine DIGITAL grant (≈€720 k) with Horizon Europe Cluster 3 calls (up to €4 m/project) for advanced research pilots.

• Use Connecting Europe Facility – Digital (CEF-Digital) for cross-border backbone connectivity vital for an EU-wide cyber-range.

• Capitalise on InvestEU guarantees to scale market-ready solutions after project end.

• Tap into national Recovery & Resilience Facility (RRF) plans earmarked for digital and cyber capacity to co-finance infrastructure.

7. Scale & Impact Potential

• Pan-European deployment pipeline: prototype within NCC-LU, validate via federated NCC testbeds in DE/ES/PL, then commercial roll-out under the EU Cybersecurity Certification Framework.

• Address the full SME landscape (24 M enterprises) by offering a unified, EU-labelled cybersecurity maturity assessment service.

• Harmonised training curricula can be localised into 24 official EU languages, maximising uptake and workforce upskilling.

8. Strategic Value of Operating at EU Level

• Critical Mass: pooling expertise and funding surpasses what any single Member State could achieve, especially for high-cost infrastructures (e.g., cyber-range, quantum-safe labs).

• Fragmentation Mitigation: EU branding promotes trust and interoperability, overcoming disparate national certification schemes.

• Policy Influence: Active NCCs become reference points during EU legislative drafting, giving participants an early-mover edge.

• Economic Resilience: Cross-border diversification of suppliers and customers mitigates national market shocks.

9. Actionable EU-Wide Opportunities

1. Establish an "EU Cybersecurity Fellowship" hosted by NCC-LU with rotations through at least 3 other NCCs.

2. Launch a federated bug-bounty platform leveraging the EU Free Flow of Non-Personal Data Regulation, enabling secure data analysis across borders.

3. Create a joint procurement cluster for SMEs to obtain affordable, EU-certified security tools.

4. Pilot a Luxembourg-led EU Cyber-Threat Observatory, feeding anonymised telemetry to ENISA and Member States.

5. Develop a cross-border ‘Green Cyber Lab’ aligning energy-efficient computing with cybersecurity needs, tapping Green Deal funds.

10. Key Takeaways

• The call is more than a national initiative; it is a gateway into a fully integrated European cybersecurity market and research ecosystem.

• Leveraging EU-wide frameworks amplifies funding, accelerates market uptake and positions participants at the forefront of strategic regulatory developments.

• Early engagement will secure first-mover advantages as the NCC network becomes the backbone of Europe’s cyber-resilience.