A House of Lords committee is launching an inquiry into EU policies on cyber defence.

Earlier this year, the European Commission published a communication on protecting Europe from large-scale assaults, highlighting concerns about member states' abilities to defend against cyber attacks.

The report recommended mandating a minimum level of capabilities and services, adequate early warning mechanisms, national contingency plans and regular "practice exercises".

The Lords EU Sub-Committee on Home Affairs wants to look into the recommendations made by the Commission to determine if they are either realistic or appropriate, given current international standards and systems.

They will focus on the proper roles for the EU and its member states in terms of enhancing governance, ensuring a strong EU-wide incident response capability, and bridging gaps in national policies for critical systems security.

In particular, the committee is asking for evidence on how vulnerable systems really are, which are the appropriate bodies for response, and whether or not a more global approach is needed.

The committee is asking interested parties to submit evidence by Friday 13 November 2009.