The European Commission is strengthening the security of submarine telecommunications cables by promoting a list of Cable Projects of European Interest (CPEIs), with Cyprus playing a key role in both the Eastern Mediterranean – Black Sea and the Trans-Mediterranean corridor. Furthermore, the Commission is amending the work programme of the Connecting Europe Facility – CEF Digital, committing a total of €347 million for strategic projects to secure submarine data cables.
Specifically, with regard to CPEIs, Cyprus is centrally integrated into the European planning for submarine cable infrastructures in both the Eastern Mediterranean – Black Sea (Priority Area 6), and the Trans-Mediterranean Corridor – Red Sea – Indian Ocean (Priority Area 7).
Within Area 6, the EU Expert Group recommends the development of a new submarine cable “connecting Cyprus with mainland Greece and Turkey and extending further to Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine via the Black Sea, with the development of a “festoon” network”, a term referring to a type of submarine cable system where the cable follows the coastline, connecting multiple landfall points in succession, rather than being routed via land routes.
At the same time, it is noted that existing and under-development projects “do not fully meet the broader need for integrated routes connecting Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and the South Caucasus.”
The need for new cable systems is also linked to the rapid increase in data demand, making “new cable systems, based on EU cybersecurity standards, necessary.”
For the implementation of the two proposed cables in Priority Area 6, the report concludes that the estimated cost for the development of two new submarine cables for this priority area amounts to €334 million.
For Priority Area 7, the report makes clear that an alternative route to Asia is needed, outside of existing sea lanes. The analysis highlights that cables in the Red Sea are already heavily congested and that “the deployment of additional submarine cables in this area would enhance resilience, particularly if they could form a ring around the Arabian Peninsula.”
Particular reference is also made to the current limited infrastructure in the Mediterranean, as “currently, the Jonah cable is the only large system in the Mediterranean region, providing a capacity of 25 Tbit/s and connecting EU member states in the Mediterranean with Israel”, while it is emphasized that this limited infrastructure increases the risk of disruption in the event of cable damage or geopolitical instability.
In this context, the Expert Group recommends a new route that explicitly includes Cyprus, with cable 7a “from mainland Europe (France, Italy), with landfall in Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Montenegro and Egypt and crossing to the Arabian Sea”. According to the relevant report, this would provide an alternative route to the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, connecting Europe with India, Singapore and Malaysia, avoiding the Strait of Hormuz.
The overall economic dimension of Priority Area 7 is clearly reflected, as the estimated cost for the development of additional cable capacity for this area amounts to €1.287 billion.
Finally, the report explains that, despite the large number of existing and under-development projects, the problem of strategic vulnerability remains, as “these initiatives largely follow existing corridors and do not fully mitigate the strategic vulnerability of the concentration of traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea routes.”
At a broader level, the list of CPEIs covers a total of 13 areas of projects of common European interest and provides for three five-year funding phases, with a horizon of up to 2040, for projects that will enhance the overall resilience of submarine cables. These projects will be prioritized in the next CEF Digital calls and will be taken into account in the planning of the next multiannual financial period of the EU.
The new Security Toolbox includes six strategic measures and four technical and supporting measures to enhance the security of submarine cable infrastructures. It is based on the European risk assessment completed in October 2025, which recorded threat scenarios, vulnerabilities and dependencies. The toolbox, the risk assessment and the list of CPEIs were developed by the European Commission and the Member States, through a dedicated Expert Group on Submarine Cables.
Source: CNA
