On 4 June 2026, the ENDURANCE and TESTUDO projects jointly organised the Second EU Cross-Border Collaboration Workshop. Bringing together more than 100 participants from across Europe, the workshop attendees included representatives of public authorities, regulatory bodies, critical infrastructure operators, research organisations, technology providers, and resilience experts.

The online workshop marked an important milestone for both projects, providing a platform to present their latest achievements, engage directly with key stakeholders, and to validate the strategic direction of ongoing research and development activities. The high level of participation reflected the growing importance of strengthening resilience in the face of increasingly complex, interconnected, and cross-border threats affecting Europe’s critical infrastructures and essential services.

A key focus of the workshop was the presentation of the Draft European Strategy for Resilience of Critical Infrastructures, one of the principal outputs of the ENDURANCE project. Participants explored the strategy’s proposed objectives, governance framework, and implementation approach, while discussing how enhanced cooperation between public authorities, regulators, critical infrastructure operators, and other stakeholders can contribute to a more resilient Europe.

The event also showcased the latest achievements of both the ENDURANCE and TESTUDO projects, highlighting advances in resilience methodologies, risk assessment approaches, stakeholder engagement, and innovative technologies designed to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience. These presentations set the stage for interactive discussions on how EU-funded project results can be translated into practical solutions that improve preparedness, response, and long-term resilience across Europe.

Workshop highlights

Throughout the workshop, participants exchanged experiences and examined the resilience challenges currently affecting critical infrastructures. Discussions focused on identifying technical, organisational, operational, and regulatory gaps while exploring practical measures to strengthen cooperation across sectors and governance levels.

Dedicated discussion sessions brought together regulators, public authorities, and critical infrastructure operators to consider resilience from both strategic and operational perspectives. The conversations addressed governance and policy alignment, trusted information sharing, situational awareness, cyber-physical security, interdependency management, workforce development, and crisis preparedness.

The workshop also provided an opportunity to validate findings from previous national workshops and gather stakeholder feedback on how the ENDURANCE and TESTUDO projects can further support resilience-building across Europe.

Key takeaways

The discussions highlighted that Europe’s resilience challenges require a coordinated, cross-sector approach that combines governance, technology, information sharing, investment, and operational collaboration. Five key priorities emerged:

• Strengthening governance and coordination across sectors, governance levels, and Member States to improve the implementation of resilience measures.
• Enhancing trusted information sharing and situational awareness through secure, interoperable platforms that support collaboration across sectors.
• Investing in people, skills, and organisational capacity, recognising that resilience depends as much on trained professionals and effective cooperation as it does on technology.
• Supporting sustainable investment in resilience, enabling critical infrastructure operators to modernise systems, strengthen preparedness, and respond more effectively to future disruptions.
• Managing interdependencies and cascading risks through integrated planning and cross-sector cooperation capable of anticipating and responding to increasingly complex incidents.

Participants also highlighted the growing role of emerging technologies, including Digital Twins, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics, as valuable tools for improving situational awareness, supporting decision-making, and enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructures.

Looking ahead

The insights gathered during the workshop will contribute directly to the further development of the Draft European Strategy for Resilience of Critical Infrastructures and will support the next stages of both the ENDURANCE and TESTUDO projects. Stakeholder feedback will help refine resilience methodologies, technological developments, and engagement activities, ensuring that project outcomes remain closely aligned with the distinctive yet interconnected needs of policymakers, regulators, and critical infrastructure operators.

The workshop reaffirmed the importance of cross-border and cross-sector collaboration in building a more resilient Europe. By fostering dialogue between public authorities, industry, researchers, and critical infrastructure operators, the ENDURANCE project continues to support the development of practical solutions that strengthen the resilience of Europe’s critical infrastructures against current and emerging challenges. A final ENDURANCE EU Workshop will take place in 2027.