Relief operations should not end in chaos: The EU wants to massively improve and expand the internal communication of the police, fire brigade, rescue services and other security-relevant organizations. At the same time, cybercriminals should be thwarted.
A Europe-wide, crisis-proof broadband network is planned for all organizations that have to do with relief operations and security. Potential enemy attacks should be prevented right from the design stage. Details of the European Critical Communication System (EUCCS) were presented in Brussels today. However, there is criticism of the planned gradual implementation.
Communication often fails because of boundaries
In most cases, communication between emergency services organizations still ends at national borders. It is not uncommon for encryption chaos, frequency confusion and software confusion to prevent security forces from communicating across national borders and sharing data without resorting to normal mobile communications. However, it is not safe.
When French or Polish firefighters want to help with forest fires in Germany, they sometimes need German hand-held radios - or interpreters have to laboriously switch back and forth between separate communication systems.
"During cross-border chases, radio contact between police units often breaks down exactly at the border," explains EU Interior Commissioner Magnus Brunner, citing the limits of the previous networks that were developed thirty years ago: "We still have the data capacity of an old SMS here. But we now work with a lot more volume that needs to be better protected: live videos, drone recordings, body cam signals or analysis devices in the ambulance."
Security vulnerabilities and other dangers
The old networks are reaching their limits here. Switching to normal mobile networks, which do more, is dangerous; in the event of a disaster, they are overloaded. The flood in the Ahr Valley in July 2021 destroyed transmission masts and feeder lines - the rescuers were completely cut off for hours.
There are also serious security gaps. The Critical Infrastructure Working Group (AG KRITIS), an alliance of IT security experts in Europe, warned in the summer of serious deficiencies: Many airports, prisons and other critical infrastructures operate their networks completely unencrypted.
The EU Commission warns of “total technical failures”. In May 2025, a network problem paralyzed the so-called digital radio for all authorities and organizations with security tasks (BOS) in Germany for one and a half hours: "There is a lack of resilient, redundantly secured EU centers," warns the EU Commission.
Goal: A uniform, crisis-proof system
These problems are the reason why the EU is now launching a uniform and crisis-proof broadband network (EUCCS). It is intended to replace the patchwork of European government radio - as a higher-level "system of systems" that "securely connects national networks via common interfaces and standards," according to an EU spokesman.
A switch to broadband technology is planned so that security forces can share even complex operational plans and videos directly in action. A satellite backup is intended to keep communication running even in the event of total blackouts - when terrestrial networks fail completely in severe disasters and large-scale power outages.
Even in normal mobile networks, rescue workers should have absolute priority in large situations and network overload. A control center will monitor the functions via a specially secured fiber optic network. A second cybersecurity unit is designed to counter hybrid threats.
Networks, software and satellite technology should be specifically contributed by European companies: “We need technological sovereignty and independence in this area,” said EU Commissioner Brunner.
Gradual introduction, double strategy in Germany
A gradual introduction is planned - the system is scheduled to go into operation with the first member states in 2030. By 2036, all EU and Schengen states should be fully connected to the new EUCCS system.
A double strategy is being planned in Germany. Old and new networks should initially be operated in parallel. According to the Federal Digital Radio Authority and organizations with security tasks (BDBOS), around 1.3 million devices are affected. The initial aim is to give priority to emergency services data in the normal G5 networks, even in the event of overload.
In a second phase, drone videos, messengers or digital maps will be sent and received via secured tablets and smartphones. In the final phase, there could be an exclusive "government-only" frequency band for emergency services, police, fire brigade and disaster relief - a "self-controlled" broadband network.
Criticism of plans for implementation
There is criticism of the plans for the implementation of EUCCS. As a temporary solution, the state is still relying too much on private networks and commercial transmission masts, which fail during power outages due to a lack of battery reserves - industry experts argue that "preferential treatment" of the emergency services is then pointless.
A bottleneck in the implementation is likely to be the company's own data transport: There are not yet enough independent frequencies for the "government-only" bands. And - the responsible German federal authority also expects this - the distribution battle could be hard and protracted.
