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The
draft, which has been submitted to other government ministries
for consultation, calls for establishing consistent regulation
across Germany's 16 states to protect strategically important
infrastructure in various sectors.
Minimum standards are to be set for operators, who will have to
draw up resilience plans taking into account every conceivable
risk.
Any serious disruption must be reported, according to the
48-page document, which does not outline potential penalties for
violations of the new rules.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, after which the Nord Stream oil
pipelines were damaged in unexplained attacks, has put Germany
and other European countries on high alert regarding critical
infrastructure.
A Chinese bid for one of three port terminals in Hamburg last
year triggered a political storm over the risks of such foreign
investments.
The Interior Ministry aims to present a finalised bill to the
cabinet by the end of the year, after which it would be put to
parliament, where no major hurdles are expected.
The ministry wants to nail down the definition of critical
infrastructure, which spans areas such as energy, transport and
telecommunications.
(Reporting by Christian Kraemer; Writing by Rachel More; Editing
by Friederike Heine and Mike Harrison)
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