Vestager says Ireland cannot be “weak link” for security in wake of Nord Stream sabotage

Ms Vestager, who was speaking at an Ibec event hosted by Trinity College Dublin, said that no country can afford to be “a weak link in the chain” of European security any longer.

“Ireland has a responsibility as does everyone else,” she said. “No-one can be a weak link of our chain of protection.”

While the US has suggested that Russia could be behind the Nord Stream gas leak, Ms Vestager declined to point fingers.

“No one knows so far who was behind the sabotage Nord Stream,” she said.

“But the methane coming out of it is very, very dangerous. It is estimated that it could be the equivalent of one third of annual Danish emissions.”

Ms Vestager, who is also Commissioner with responsibility for digital affairs, said that she expects to see discussions on improving security.

“It’s not just how we make our infrastructure more secure at the border,” she said. “Our entire energy grids are digitalised, which also means that the cybersecurity and [protecting against] outbreaks is of the essence.”

She said that this may also apply to energy security around ‘clean’ energy such as windmills and solar panels.

Security experts have criticised Ireland for spending substantially less on defence and security than other EU countries.

Yesterday, independent senator Tom Clonan said that European communications infrastructure security could be vulnerable to potential sabotage from Russia or other countries due to low patrolling activity in our territorial waters.

Asked at the Institute of International and European Affairs about whether Europe should be concerned over the security of such telecoms infrastructure, Ms Vestager said: “Just because we’ve had this incident, it doesn’t mean that all of a sudden everything is insecure. Work has been ongoing for a very long time to make sure we have the necessary cybersecurity.”

Ms Vestager held discussions today with Taoiseach Micheál Martin. She said that they did not discuss the Commissioner’s €13bn tax ruling on Apple, a decision that was overturned by European courts and is currently under appeal.

Ms Vestager said that global attitudes around issues such as regulating big tech firms and privacy has shifted to follow Europe’s lead.

“When I first was in the US with the first legal case under my arm, it was ‘who’s this crazy woman’,” she said. “It’s amazing how much the mood has changed in the eight years I’ve been dealing with technology.”