Initiatives for
As the national authority for Cybersecurity the CCB has developed several initiatives for specific publics which are presented here.
The National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre Belgium (NCC-BE) helps strengthen Belgium’s cybersecurity ecosystem by driving innovation, coordinating strategic investments, and supporting organisations in accessing EU funding. We represent the Belgian cybersecurity community at the European level and connect industry, academia, and public entities to boost our technological resilience.
The NCC-BE is part of a European framework led by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC), working alongside a network of 29 national coordination centres. This initiative strengthens cybersecurity innovation, industrial policy and Europe’s technological sovereignty.
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Join Forces with the Belgian National Cybersecurity Center (NCC-BE)
Our partnership program aims at inviting cybersecurity actors from Belgium to engage in fruitful collaborations with their counterparts in Belgium and other EU Member States.
Private Space (NCC-BE cybersecurity platform)
Core tasks of the NCC-BE
- coordinate investments from the European Union
- support strategic tasks of the ECCC
- act as a national focal point for the European governance framework (ECCC ; the NCCs)
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The importance of a national coordination centre for Belgium
The technological developments, new (cross-border) cyber threats and the radical shift to digital environments changed our society at a rapid pace. It is important that Belgium keeps up with this evolution in order to meet the associated challenges.
The national coordination centre will allow Belgium to fully seize new (investment) opportunities from the EU;
In addition, the national coordination centre will improve cooperation at the national and regional levels in Belgium, which (given the current cyber challenges and constitutional context) is essential to achieve the necessary level of cybersecurity.
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Establishment and tasks of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre
The ECCC, in cooperation with the network of NCCS, will build a strong cybersecurity knowledge community to facilitate cooperation and the sharing of expertise and capabilities between all relevant stakeholders, in particular research and industrial communities, as well as public authorities. This ecosystem will strengthen the capacities of the knowledge community, protect our economy and society from cyberattacks, maintain excellence in research, and strengthen the competitiveness of European industry in the field of cybersecurity.
The ECCC, together with Member States, industry, and the knowledge community, will develop and implement a common agenda for technology development in the cybersecurity domain and for its wide application in society and in business – in particular SMEs.
The European organisation
The ECCC is currently being established. The European Commission will ensure that the Competence Centre continues to function until it can operate autonomously. The administrative and operational structure of the competence centre consists of:
A Governing Board
that provides strategic orientation and supervises the activities of the Centre. Each member state is represented on this governing board by two delegates. The CCB will provide two experts who represent Belgium's views on the board.
The Executive Director
of the ECCC is the legal representative of the Centre and responsible for day-to-day management.
Strategic Advisory Group
that ensures a permanent dialogue between the knowledge community and the Centre.
NCCs
The ECCC will work closely with the Network of National Coordination Centres (NCCs), which supports the cybersecurity community at national level and can channel EU funding under certain conditions. The NCCs will exchange good practices and ideas among member states.
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Tasks and operations of the National Coordination Centre
The new management framework and the national coordination centre offer many opportunities to strengthen the cyber ecosystem in Belgium, to realise new growth in digitisation and its security, as well as increase Belgium's digital competitiveness. It is therefore of great importance to set up an organisation that is as efficient as possible, delivering optimal coordination between all existing and future cybersecurity initiatives.
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National Cybersecurity Coordination CentreAs a national coordination centre, the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) will have three main tasks:
- Coordinating investments from the EU
- Supporting the strategic tasks of the European Competence Centre
- Acting as a national focal point for the European management framework
In addition, the National Coordination Centre makes it possible to coordinate the competences in the field of cybersecurity – which in Belgium are shared amongst the regions, communities, and the federal government – and to define a strategic approach.
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Central consultation platform
To coordinate Belgium’s position, as well as to ensure the functioning of the Belgian National Coordination Centre and the general Belgian cybersecurity investment policy, a central, national consultation platform at the working group level has been set up for all relevant administrations of federal and federated entities and of the security services. This consultation platform is called the Strategic Board. The Belgian positions determined by the Strategic Board will be communicated by two experts from the CCB on the governing board of the European Competence Centre.
Capacity Building
Building a strong cybersecurity workforce, developing future talent, and enhancing crisis preparedness are key to strengthening Belgium’s cyber resilience. The CCB drives capacity-building efforts through education initiatives, cybersecurity challenges, and large-scale cyber exercises.
Legal basis
The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) has been designated as the national cybersecurity coordination centre (NCC-BE) for Belgium. This NCC-BE is part of a European management framework consisting of the ECCC and a network of 27 national coordination centers created by the European Regulation (EU) 2021/887 of 20 May 2021.
This framework aims at pooling and better coordinating research, technology and industrial development investments in the field of cybersecurity in the Union. The ECCC will manage financial support for cybersecurity from, in particular, the Horizon Europe (HE) and Digital Europe Programme(DEP) investment programmes. This approach will help create synergies, encourage cross-border initiatives, and avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts.
Who can contact the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre Belgium?
Amongst others: research institutions, governments; industry (eg, SME’s), other member states, European institutions or organisations, academic partners, other NCCs, ECSO, ENISA, and NGOs.
How to contact the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre Belgium?
E-mail: ncc@ccb.belgium.be
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EU Investment Programmes
The new work programmes have been adopted by the European Commission for both Digital Europe Programme and Horizon Europe, but also the European Defence Fund. All of them include allocations for cyber security projects.
Digital Europe Programme
The Digital Europe Programme aims to support the development of advanced digital technologies and will reinforce EU critical digital capacities by focusing on the key areas of cybersecurity, advanced computing, artificial intelligence (AI), data infrastructure, governance and processing, the deployment of these technologies, and their best use for critical sectors.
The work programmes:
ⓘ DIGITAL Europe Work Programme 2023-2024;
ⓘ DIGITAL Europe - Cybersecurity Work Programme 2023-2024 (specifically for cybersecurity).
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Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe is primarily focused on research and innovation, more exactly on research infrastructures.
ⓘ European Commission: Horizon Europe Cybersicherheitsaspekte.
ⓘ The cybersecurity aspects are available in the Work Programme 2023-2024 for Cluster 3 'Civil Security for Society'.
ⓘ The Funding and Tenders portal.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Funding Programme
The EIC Accelerator is a funding programme under Horizon Europe that offers support to start-ups and SMEs that:
- have a innovative, game changing product, service or business model that could create new markets or disrupt existing ones in Europe and even worldwide,
- have the ambition and commitment to scale up,
- are looking for substantial funding, but the risks involved are too high for private investors alone to invest.
The EIC Accelerator Open Call is available for proposals in any field of technology. The overall budget for the EIC Accelerator Open in 2025 is €384 million
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European Defence Fund
The European Defence Fund (EDF) is the European Union's programme for research and development in the defence industry. The European Commission has adopted the latest annual work programme under the EDF, with a grand total of €1.2 billion to support collaborative research and development projects and innovation in Europe's defence sector. The cyber topic was allocated an amount of 60 million EUR.
ⓘ European Defence Fund details (including work programme)
ⓘ Funding and Tenders portal - EDF
ⓘ FPS Economy (coordinator of EDF in Belgium) (available in NL or FR)
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