National Cybersecurity Coordination Center Germany (NCC-DE)

6 October 2021

Through EU Regulation 2021/887, the European Parliament and the European Council have decided to establish a European Center of Excellence for Cybersecurity in Industry, Technology, and Research (hereinafter referred to as the “European Center of Excellence”) in Bucharest.

In addition, a network of national coordination centers will be established in all Member States. This is intended to strengthen the pooling of investments in research, technology, and industrial development in the field of cybersecurity within the European Union. In particular, the aim is to better coordinate the planning of the European funding programs “Horizon Europe” and “Digital Europe.”

_{Stakeholders in the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center (NKCS) (Infographic: BSI, as of 2026)}

In addition, the European Center of Excellence is to independently carry out research and innovation activities (supported by “Horizon Europe”) as well as capacity-building measures (supported by “Digital Europe”) and, drawing on its expertise, also provide advisory input into the planning of other programs (such as the European Defense Fund) to avoid duplication.

Together with the network of national coordination centers, the cybersecurity community is to be comprehensively engaged and involved. In these activities, particular attention is to be paid to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and startups.

The European Competence Center will ensure greater coordination of research, development, and innovation, as well as deployment strategies (including the adoption, implementation, and integration of cybersecurity products, services, and procedures) at the European and national levels. A governing board composed of member states and the European Commission will be established.

Germany will be represented on this board by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), which also serves as the lead agency for the national coordination center in Germany. The European network of national coordination centers will intensify the exchange between Member States so that potential multilateral project partnerships between interested partners from government, industry, and academia can be identified and established more effectively and quickly within the European Union. This strengthens Europe’s digital sovereignty.

To this end, the national coordination centers will promote and intensify exchanges among interested national partners within their respective member states. This will consolidate the flow of information to the European Center of Excellence in order to provide the best possible support to the national cybersecurity community and to effectively incorporate national interests into the planning of European funding programs.

The German National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity (NCC-DE) in Industry, Technology, and Research  is a joint cooperation platform established by the BMWK, BMI, BMVg, and BMBF, as well as individual subordinate agencies (BSI, RI CODE, and DLR-PT). Overall coordination is the responsibility of the BMI. The BSI serves as the “single point of contact” for the competence center, the European network of national coordination centers, and the cybersecurity community.

Contact

Nationales Koordinierungszentrum für Cybersicherheit in Industrie, Technologie und Forschung
c/o Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik
Referat TK 21 - Technologie- und Forschungsstrategie
Godesberger Allee 185-189
53175 Bonn
E-Mail: nkcs@bsi.bund.de

Note: The abbreviations and the order of the parties listed as participants in the NKCS have been updated to reflect the changes that occurred during the formation of the government in February 2025.

_{Photo: © UniBw M / C. Siebold}