Europe is strengthening its maritime security with an updated Maritime Security Strategy, a sizable subsea infrastructure package in early 2026 totaling €347 million, and an ocean-observation initiative worth €92 million, alongside existing funding mechanisms like SAFE (around €150 billion) and the European Defence Fund, which largely concentrates activity among France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Russia’s war in Ukraine and related maritime threats are prompting Europe to bolster defenses, including measures against a shadow fleet of sanctioned tankers, disruptions to Baltic cables, and security actions such as NATO’s Baltic Sentry patrols.

By March 2026, the EU launched an Industrial Maritime Strategy to boost competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability of maritime industries, complemented by a Counter-Drone Action Plan prioritizing unmanned maritime drones and counter-drone capabilities across air, sea, and underwater domains.

The report structure emphasizes an integrated industry analysis with chapters on market analysis and production, signaling a comprehensive, enterprise-wide reporting approach rather than a single narrative.

Submarine cables convey the vast majority of intercontinental internet traffic and also support electricity interconnectors, meaning disruptions reverberate well beyond the immediate damage site.

Critics warn that concentrating defense effort in a few states undermines burden-sharing, underscoring Greece and Sweden as important regional contributors and calling for credible, interoperable, and distributed forces beyond the four dominant EU states.

Additional criticism argues the four-country focus misses vulnerable navies and stresses the need for a shared maritime awareness and interoperable systems that could extend to partners like the UK and Norway.

There is a persistent emphasis on moving from strategy documents to deployed sensing, repair, and surveillance capabilities to protect critical undersea infrastructure.

Experts advocate a whole-of-Europe approach with interoperable systems and a shared maritime picture, using integrated information-and-action networks to monitor and defend underwater assets.

The EU faces heightened risk to underwater infrastructure, with repeated incidents in the Baltic and Gulf of Finland since 2022 affecting data, energy, and financial networks, underscoring Europe’s reliance on maritime infrastructure for trade and communications.

A vast portion of global trade travels by sea and the majority of international digital communications run through submarine cables, highlighting Europe’s dependence on maritime routes for data and goods.

Maritime security now encompasses protecting underwater infrastructure like cables and pipelines, which carry the bulk of the world’s data and power flows.