On Wednesday 27 November in Strasbourg, MEPs called on the Member States of the European Union to strengthen their preparedness and the resilience of their infrastructures in the face of increasing hybrid threats and acts of sabotage attributed to hostile third countries.
The MEPs discussed the recent sabotages of underwater cables in the Baltic Sea with the outgoing European Commissioner, Helena Dalli. These acts of sabotage have been attributed to a Chinese vessel and were allegedly ordered by Russia in order to disrupt EU telecommunications and internet traffic.
The ship was then boarded by boats from NATO, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Germany and is still being held in a Danish port.
Ms Dalli condemned the now “very familiar” incidents and increased activity, which she blamed on China and Russia, stating that such incidents must “force Europe to face up to these hybrid threats”.
To this end, the Commissioner called on the Member States to transpose the recent European directives on network security and critical infrastructure protection (see other news) “as soon as possible”.
She also highlighted the contributions of the recent report on EU resilience by former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö (see EUROPE 13515/1).
A number of MEPs, including Mika Aaltola (EPP, Finnish), called for tougher sanctions against ‘offending’ third countries and for these ships to be blocked by a joint force.
Sabrina Repp (S&D, German) described the signal as “alarming” and denounced a “direct attack on the stability and cohesion of our societies”. The MEP called on Member States to equip themselves with more resistant cables and real resilience plans, and to invest more in critical infrastructures.
The Estonian conservative, Rihards Kols, also felt that the rupture of these cables “could have catastrophic consequences for our societies and our economies”. “Calculated hybrid attacks are designed to test our defences, spread fear and weaken Europe’s resolve”, he added.
“Maritime surveillance and control must be strengthened, a rapid reaction team for critical infrastructures must be set up and exclusive and controlled shipping lanes must be established to reduce the risks”, Mr Kols also stated, calling on the EU to punish those responsible. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)