The European Parliament and the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers have reached an agreement on the text of the cybersecurity directive. (For background on the draft directive, see Legal update, European Commission publishes cybersecurity strategy and draft directive: IP and IT issues.) The compromise text has not yet been published.

The presidency is due to present the agreed text for approval by the member states' ambassadors at the Permanent Representatives Committee on 18 December 2015. The parliament and the council will then still have to approve the text formally before it can enter into force. Member states will then have 21 months to implement the directive into their national laws.

Sources: European Parliament press release, 7 December 2015; European Commission press release; and Council of the EU press release, 8 December 2015.