Bucharest, Romania. Columbia Group has warned that a widening gap between cyber regulation and operational readiness is holding back industry progress, following discussions at CRA Europe 2026 focused on the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act.
Conference setting and participants
The conference was held at the Romanian Parliament at the beginning of March and was organised by I-ENERGYLINK and the CYBERFORT consortium, with support from the Romanian National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC). More than 150 policymakers, regulators, supervisory authorities, industry leaders, cybersecurity experts, technology providers and academics attended.
From legal text to implementation
Participants examined how the Cyber Resilience Act can move from legal text to practical implementation. While there was broad alignment on the goals of the CRA, discussions highlighted challenges in translating requirements into clear guidance, workable compliance models and systems that can be applied in practice, particularly by SMEs, manufacturers, integrators and operators in critical sectors.
Vulnerability management and security updates
Vulnerability management and security updates emerged as a recurring theme throughout the event, with discussions indicating these areas are increasingly central to whether organisations can meet compliance expectations. The conference discussions also pointed to companies rethinking how security is built into the full lifecycle of digital products, from design and development to end-of-support.
Three strategic strands
The conference was structured around three strands. The first focused on setting the CRA compliance framework, bringing together institutional and industry representatives to clarify roles, responsibilities and support mechanisms. The second addressed operational delivery, covering vulnerability handling procedures, incident reporting obligations, CE marking documentation requirements and pilot use cases in sectors including energy, finance, maritime and cybersecurity SMEs. The final session looked beyond compliance, exploring secure-by-design principles, public-private partnerships and long-term support structures intended to help turn regulatory obligations into market advantage.
What steps is your organisation taking to translate Cyber Resilience Act requirements into operational practices?