Brussels, 06/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini made public their joint framework, on Wednesday 6 April, to counter hybrid threats and foster the resilience of the EU.
It is not easy to provide an exhaustive definition of what is meant by “hybrid threats”. The central point, however, is the blurring of the lines between domestic and external security with attacks that remain below the threshold of formally declared warfare. The best examples being the action of the Russian Federation in eastern Ukraine and those of the terrorist group Daesh.
It was, then, with the aim of having a “comprehensive approach” by combining European and national instruments in a more effective way than in the past, that Mogherini and Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska brought together existing policies to propose 22 “operational actions”, countering hybrid threats being a matter that falls largely within national powers.
These actions, set out in detail in our sister publication Europe, Diplomacy & Defence (EDD 879), may be grouped under four main headings: improving awareness of the situation and joint strategic communication; building resilience, particularly of critical infrastructure in the energy, transport and space sectors; defining effective procedures to prevent, respond to and recover from crisis resulting from hybrid attacks; and stepping up the cooperation between the EU and NATO and other partner organisations. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)