Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Today, in Brussels, the European Union and its Member States announced the approval of a declaration on the common understanding on the application of international law in cyberspace. According to a statement issued in Brussels, the declaration indicates that international law remains valid in this digital domain and emphasizes that states must adhere to certain rules and obligations when conducting activities in cyberspace.
The declaration recognizes that malicious behavior in cyberspace is increasing in scale, severity, complexity and impact, posing a major challenge and threat to the functioning of European societies, economies and way of life. However, cyberspace is not a lawless domain.
Respect for and adherence to the UN Framework for Responsible State Behavior in Cyberspace remains essential for the maintenance of international peace, security and stability. Therefore, the European Union and its Member States reaffirm their full commitment to implementing the UN Framework for Responsible State Behavior in Cyberspace, adopted unanimously and reiterated by the UN General Assembly on several occasions, which affirms, among other things, that international law, in particular the UN Charter, international human rights law and international humanitarian law, is fully applicable to cyberspace.
The EU and its Member States will continue to work with international partners to establish a single, comprehensive, regular and action-oriented UN mechanism to implement and promote responsible State behaviour in cyberspace.

With this Declaration, the EU and its Member States demonstrate that it is possible to reach a common understanding on a set of fundamental principles and rules of international law applicable to cyberspace. A better global common understanding of how international law applies to cyberspace contributes to strengthening global cyber resilience and increasing transparency, predictability and accountability of State behaviour in cyberspace. In this context, the EU and its Member States continue to support third States through training and capacity building on the implementation of the UN Framework for Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace, including on how to develop a national, regional or international position on the application of international law to cyberspace.

This is the first time that the EU and its Member States have adopted a Declaration on this specific topic. The Declaration follows the repeated endorsement by the UN General Assembly of the Framework for Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace, which is based on the application of international law. The Declaration relates to the efforts undertaken at the United Nations level, specifically the UN Open-ended Working Group on the Security and Use of ICTs in the period 2021-2025, established by UN General Assembly resolution UN A/RES/75/240 in 2021. In April 2024, the European External Action Service submitted to the Horizontal Working Group on Internet Issues (HWPCI) a non-paper on the application of international law to cyberspace. In close cooperation with the Working Group on Public International Law (COJUR), the Horizontal Working Group on Internet Issues reached agreement on the text of the Declaration on 4 November 2024. This agreement was confirmed by the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on 13 November 2024.