Protecting critical water infrastructure in an evolving geopolitical context: challenges and solutions

Location: the event will take place in person in Palace of the Commonwealth, (Plac Krasińskich 3/5, 00-207 Warsaw, Poland) and online.

Languages: Polish, English, French, Italian, Ukrainian

The water sector is an essential component of European security, facing a growing range of human-induced threats, including cyberattacks, terrorism, and other malicious acts. Ensuring the protection of water infrastructure requires a robust framework and tools that enable operators to counter these threats effectively. The adoption of the Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive and the NIS2 Directive has established a common legal framework at the European level to guide security efforts in the water sector. Additionally, the recently adopted EU Preparedness Strategy will facilitate the coordination between security strategies and strengthen the broader resilience of the European continent against shocks. However, effective governance and adequate resources are necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the EU framework on the ground.

This event will address key challenges, including cybersecurity threats to digital water infrastructure, physical security risks to critical assets and networks, and preparedness and crisis response strategies to mitigate service disruptions. Experts and stakeholders from the water sector and beyond will explore the best approaches and institutional cooperation mechanisms to ensure the protection of our water infrastructure.

8:00 – 8:45                      Registration and welcome coffee

8:45 – 9:15                      Welcome addresses

                                        Polish Minister for European Union Affairs

Representative of the Mayor of the City of Warsaw

Renata Tomusiak, President of the Management Board of Warsaw Municipal Water and Sewerage Company in the city of Warsaw

9:15 – 10:30                    SESSION I: Resilience of critical water infrastructure:  the EU framework an national approaches 

Maria Luiza van de Westelaken, Team Leader at the Counter-Terrorism Unit - Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission

Frederic Petit, Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Michał Szczerba, Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Security and Defense, Poland

Prof. J,D. Michał Romanowski, Lawyer and Professor of Civil and Commercial Law at the University of Warsaw, Poland

Riina Liikanen, Senior Advisor and Head of Readiness at the Finnish Water Association, Finland

Chuck Egli, US Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center, United States

Moderated by: Milo Fiasconaro, Executive Director of Aqua Publica Europea

10:30 – 10:45                  Coffee break

10:45 – 12:00                SESSION II: The security of critical water infrastructure in light of current geopolitical conditions

Panel discussion:

Tomasz Mencina, Deputy Mayor of the City of Warsaw

General Waldemar Skrzypczak, Military Expert

Piotr Szufnara, Government Security Center (RCB)

Damian Szlachter Ph.D., Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW)

Moderated by: Renata Tomusiak, President of the Management Board of Warsaw Municipal Water and Sewerage Company in the city of Warsaw

12:00 – 13:00                  Lunch

13:00 – 14:15                 SESSION III: Security and resilience of water infrastructure and operations – Water and wastewater operators’ approaches

Presentations by:

Victoras Matonis, Technical Director at Vilanius Vandenys responsible for infrastructure and service continuity, Lithuania 

Michele Tessera, Director Digital Hub, Gruppo CAP (Milan), Italy

Viktor Görög, Security Director, Budapest Waterworks, Hungary 

Dmytro Novytskyi, President of the Ukrvodokanalekologia Association, General Director of Kyivvoddokanal, Ukraine

Piotr Ziętara, President of the Board Krakow Waterworks, Poland

Moderated by: lt. col. (ret.)  Tomasz Białek, Eng. Ph.D, Security Expert Center for Social and Economic Risk Research at Civitas University, Poland

14:15 – 14:30                  Coffee break

14:30 – 15:45                  SESSION IV: Cyber security and digital resilience in the water and wastewater sector

                                         Discussion:                                                                                             

Superintendent Adam Cieślak, Commander of the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime

Łukasz Wojewoda, Director of the Cyber Security Department at the Polish Ministry of Digitisation

Radoslaw Nielek Ph.D, Director of NASK, Poland’s national research institute specialised in cybersecurity

Jarosław Kowalik, Deputy Director of the Information Technology and Telecommunications Division at Warsaw Municipal Water and Sewage Company 

Moderated by: Mariusz Stawowski Ph.D., Member of the Board Clico Group

15:45 – 16:00                 Summary and conclusion of the conference 

Bernard Van Nuffel, President of Aqua Publica Europea

Download the programme

Presentations:

• Maria Luiza van de Westelaken, European Commission
• Frederic Petit, European Commission
• Prof. J,D. Michał Romanowski, University of Warsaw
• Riina Liikanen, Finnish Water Association
• Chuck Egli, US Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center
• Alexandra Gryguć, Mpwik
• Viktor Görög, Budapest Waterworks
• Dmytro Novytskyi, Ukrvodokanalekologia Association