On 5 December 2024, the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), under the Advancing the Cyber Programme of Action (PoA) project, hosted a reception at the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations in New York to present the “Declaration by the EU and its Member States on a Common Understanding of the Application of International Law to Cyberspace”. The reception was organised on the sidelines of the 9th substantive session of the Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies 2021–2025 (OEWG).
The Declaration builds on the repeated endorsement by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) of the framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, which is firmly rooted in the application of international law. It aligns with ongoing efforts at the UN level, particularly through the OEWG, established by UNGA resolution A/RES/75/240 in 2021. The EUISS has played a supporting role in the activities of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and EU Member State delegates by fostering discussions and moments of reflection, which ultimately contributed to the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU’s approval of the Declaration in November 2024.
The reception built upon the momentum to showcase that the EU—as second regional organisation reaching a common understanding on international in cyberspace—can step forward and support other national as well as regional delegations through training and capacity building on the implementation of the UN framework of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.
The reception welcomed both delegates and non-state actors. Ambassador Hedda Samson, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations, delivered opening remarks and officially handed over the Declaration to His Excellency Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Chair of the OEWG. This was followed by an in-depth presentation by Yoeri Van Haaften, Cyber Policy Adviser at the EEAS, alongside one of the lead negotiators of the Declaration, and representatives from EU Member States.