Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 6th, 2016 concerning measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems across the Union (The NIS Directive) was adopted and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on July 19th, 2016.

This Directive entered into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Member States shall adopt and publish, by 9 May 2018, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. 

It was taken on the basis of Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, because network and information systems and services play a vital role in society. Their reliability and security are essential to economic and societal activities, and to the functioning of the internal market.