Ministers approve plans for European Network and Information Security Agency 

The EU's telecommunications ministers endorsed in principle on 5 June plans to create the European Network and Information Security Agency. The UK and Germany abstained in the voting. The new body would function as an advisory body on how to combat hacking, virus attacks and threats to information networks, and it would also formulate pan-EU guidelines.

Under the Council's agreement, the Agency's Management Board would include one representative of each Member State, three representatives to be appointed by the Commission, and one representative each (with no voting rights) of the relevant industries, consumer groups and IT experts. According to the Commission, the new Agency should be "an efficient and flexible entity", and for this end the national governments should avoid strangling it by red tape.

The European Parliament is due to assess the proposal to create the new agency in November 2003. The plan needs backing from EU Member States to take effect, probably at the start of next year. The Agency is expected to cost around 24 million euro over five years.