Committee of the Regions Discusses Agriculture, Cybersecurity, and Territorial Resilience

Marshal Piotr Całbecki chaired a two-day (20–21 May) off-site meeting of the members of the European Committee of the Regions’ Commission for Natural Resources (NAT) in Venice. The NAT session took place today, while yesterday included a conference on territorial resilience and a visit to the control center of the technologically advanced MOSE system, which protects Venice from high water.

The committee’s meeting focused on the future of European agriculture and the food market, as well as the cybersecurity of hospitals and other healthcare institutions.

The NAT adopted an opinion broadly supporting the direction of changes proposed by the European Commission in its action plan titled “A Vision for Agriculture and Food.” The document emphasizes competitiveness, market protection, and food security based on sustainable farming and cultivation.

Cybersecurity in medical facilities is a topic often overlooked in investment planning and underestimated in public debate. Yet, the European Commission estimates that up to half of the hospitals in EU member states may already have been targeted by cyberattacks, and the healthcare sector is considered one of the most vulnerable to such criminal activity. Medical servers store extremely sensitive personal data, which by their nature should be strictly and effectively protected. One of the Commission’s key areas of intervention is precisely to ensure the safety of this data.

Following NAT’s positive recommendation, the Committee of the Regions is expected to adopt both opinions at its plenary session in July.

Venice’s MOSE (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) – a system of 78 centrally controlled mobile barriers with movable gates – was developed in response to the challenges of regular flooding from the sea (it was launched in 2020). It is one of the most technologically advanced engineering structures in the world. Using the MOSE as a case study, NAT members discussed regional resilience to crisis situations.

Yesterday’s meeting with representatives of Università Iuav di Venezia – one of Europe’s leading institutions in the fields of architecture, design, fashion, visual arts, theater, and urban and regional planning – focused on planned cooperation between the university and NAT/COR in research on the environment, territorial governance, and sustainable development.

Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office

21 May 2025