During the second half of 2019, the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union will be organising two discussion sessions on the subject of hybrid threats in forums that are not usually at the forefront of these issues.
At their informal meetings in Helsinki, in July and September respectively, Home Affairs and Finance Ministers will be confronted with real-life scenarios designed to make them more aware of the impact of threats of this kind on security in the European Union.
In Helsinki on Thursday, 27 June, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said that, during the Finnish Presidency, ministers and national experts “will discuss hybrid threats via scenarios that involve hybrid threats”. He argued that, in times of crisis, we react according to the preparation we have received before the event, and stressed the importance for ministerial teams that are not directly involved to deal with scenarios of this kind.
These political discussions will aim to “strengthen the EU's resilience” and will “send a signal that the EU is enhancing its capacity to counter hybrid threats”, said Maria Ohisalo, Minister of Home Affairs.
The incoming Finnish Presidency is also aiming to convince Member States of the need to set up a permanent working group in the Council of the EU.
Although they are difficult to define, hybrid threats consist of coordinated and synchronised actions that deliberately target the weaknesses of a State's democratic institutions by using a combination of methods, with a view to influencing different forms of decision-making by public authorities or influencing democratic processes and with the aim of undermining public trust in democratic institutions, according to a concept developed in the West. The advent of modern communication technologies broadens and magnifies the methods and activities used.
Mr Haavisto cited as examples cyber threats, interference in electoral processes, the exploitation of migration issues for radicalisation purposes, and the manipulation of GPS networks during military exercises.
Finland is a leader in this area and has hosted the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats since 2017. The centre, which is based in Helsinki, consists of a network of experts and practitioners from eighteen Member States (Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom), the United States, Canada, Norway and Montenegro. It has been set up to test new ideas and share good practice in this area. Its aim is to strengthen cooperation between the EU and NATO, as Finland is not a member of NATO.
For more information, go to: https://www.hybridcoe.fi/ (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)