On the occasion of the inaugural meeting of the EU-US Cyber Dialogue on 5 December 2014, EU and US representatives met in Brussels to discuss several foreign policy-related cyber issues:

International Security in Cyberspace

The participants welcomed the landmark consensus of the 2012-2013 Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security, including its affirmation of the applicability of existing international law to cyberspace. The two sides welcomed the confidence building measures agreed in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and their implementation in order to build confidence and reduce the prospects for conflict in cyberspace. They commended efforts to expand similar efforts in other regional fora such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Organization for American States.

Internet Governance Developments in 2015

The two sides reiterated that no single entity, company, organisation or government should seek to control the Internet, and expressed their full support for multi-stakeholder governance structures of the Internet that are inclusive, transparent, accountable and technically sound. 

 As such, the EU and US representatives:

• emphasised the value of the annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and encouraging its ongoing improvements in line with the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development  recommendations.  Urged renewal of the IGF’s mandate and the continuation of its work, according to paragraph 72 of The Tunis Agenda, beyond the end of its current mandate in 2015.  
• recognised the importance of the NETmundial Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance hosted by Brazil in April 2014 which set common principles and important values for an inclusive, multistakeholder and evolving governance framework. Both sides are committed to implementing the NETmundial roadmap.
• welcomed the multi-stakeholder community’s engagement on efforts to address accountability of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and transitioning the stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), recognising the positive progress of these two interrelated initiatives.

US-EU Cyber Related Work Streams

The two sides welcomed the continued cooperation through the existing US-EU Working Group on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime and highlighted cooperation occurring in the following key areas:

Cybersecurity:

• On public-private partnerships, they noted the preliminary workshop held in November 2014 comparing US Cybersecurity Framework and EU NIS Platform approaches to cybersecurity risk management and voluntary information sharing. Participants highlighted the opportunity for future work to foster common approaches and best practices to cybersecurity risk management.
• On awareness raising, they highlighted the successful conclusion of the synchronised US-EU cybersecurity awareness raising month in October 2014, noted the progress made in awareness raising cooperation through the Working Group, and looked forward to further cooperation in this area.
• The two sides noted the opportunity for further collaboration among the US, EU, and member states on cyber incident management and considered a joint activity with the aim of enhancing cooperation in case of global cyber-incidents, building upon the lessons learned from the US-EU CyberAtlantic 2011 exercise, national exercises, and operational experience.

Cybercrime:

• The Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online has consolidated, grown larger and gained new momentum as noted in the Ministerial Conference held in Washington on 29-30 September 2014 and its ambitious Ministerial Statement. The EU and US will continue to work together to ensure this initiative is effective and intensify cooperation to tackle jointly the issues presented by transnational child sex offenders, following the mandate given at the EU-US Summit this year
• The two sides affirmed their commitment to promote the Budapest Convention as the reference framework for the fight against cybercrime, including by working together in international fora. We welcome the most recent signatories in 2014: Luxembourg, Turkey and Panama.
• The EU and US will also proactively work with Internet organisations (such as ICANN and the Regional Internet Registries) to engage their support and cooperation in furthering greater security and stability on the Internet and to address cybercrime challenges.

Upcoming cyber events

The two sides look forward to the UN General Assembly ten-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society in 2015.  They both believe that the timing of the review is appropriate as the UN General Assembly will be finalising a post-2015 development agenda, and the review will build on efforts to continue bridging the digital divide.  The General Assembly’s recognition and allowance for multistakeholder participation in the review was appreciated, and participation from all stakeholders is strongly encouraged and welcomed.

With the increasing relevance that cyber issues play in the overall society, the EU and US representatives welcomed the upcoming Global Conference on Cyberspace in The Hague in April 2015 and the annual Freedom Online (Coalition) Conference in Mongolia in May 2015.

Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Online

The EU and US reaffirmed their strong commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. They emphasised that all human beings have the same human rights online and offline and that states have an obligation to protect those rights in accordance with international law. In particular, the rights to freedom of expression and privacy, as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in the digital sphere require the attention of all stakeholders.

Global Cyber Capacity Building

Both sides emphasised the importance of bridging the digital divide towards fostering open societies and enabling economic growth and social development.They reiterated their commitment to an approach to cyber capacity building that leverages the expertise and resources of all stakeholders to ensure that people around the world can fully benefit from the Internet and ICTs.  They welcomed further coordination among actors globally and agreed to continue exchanging views and good practices, as well as to seek future synergies in their respective global cyber capacity building initiatives.

The chairs agreed that they will continue their collaborative efforts and convene the US-EU Cyber Dialogue again in approximately one year’s time in Washington, DC.