Recital 16 Consistent identification of critical entities

In order to ensure that all relevant entities are subject to the resilience means a critical entity’s ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, resist, mitigate, absorb, accommodate and recover from an incident; requirements of this Directive and to reduce divergences in that respect, it is important to lay down harmonised rules allowing for a consistent identification of critical entities means a public or private entity which has been identified by a Member State in accordance with Article 6 as belonging to one of the categories set out in the third column of the table in the Annex; across the Union, while also allowing Member States to adequately reflect the role and importance of those entities at national level. When applying the criteria laid down in this Directive, each Member State should identify entities that provide one or more essential services means a service which is crucial for the maintenance of vital societal functions, economic activities, public health and safety, or the environment; and that operate and have critical infrastructure means an asset, a facility, equipment, a network or a system, or a part of an asset, a facility, equipment, a network or a system, which is necessary for the provision of an essential service; located on its territory. An entity should be considered to operate on the territory of a Member State in which it carries out activities necessary for the essential service means a service which is crucial for the maintenance of vital societal functions, economic activities, public health and safety, or the environment; or services in question and in which that entity’s critical infrastructure means an asset, a facility, equipment, a network or a system, or a part of an asset, a facility, equipment, a network or a system, which is necessary for the provision of an essential service;, which is used to provide that service or those services, is located. Where no entity meets those criteria in a Member State, that Member State should be under no obligation to identify a critical entity means a public or private entity which has been identified by a Member State in accordance with Article 6 as belonging to one of the categories set out in the third column of the table in the Annex; in the corresponding sector or subsector. In the interests of effectiveness, efficiency, consistency and legal certainty, appropriate rules should be established as regards notifying entities that they have been identified as critical entities means a public or private entity which has been identified by a Member State in accordance with Article 6 as belonging to one of the categories set out in the third column of the table in the Annex;.