Brussels, 16/03/2026 (Agence Europe) – In its conclusions on Monday 16 March, the EU Council stressed the European Union’s determination to use all the tools at its disposal to prevent, deter and respond to hybrid campaigns targeting the Union, its Member States and its partners. The EU Council calls for all available tools, including the ‘EU Hybrid Toolbox’, the ‘Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox’ and restrictive measures, to be implemented, strengthened and developed in order to prevent, deter and respond to hybrid threats. The European Union intends to increase the costs of hybrid activities against the EU for those responsible. In the EU Council’s view, the EU must further strengthen its capacity to assess and analyse hybrid threats. It also reaffirms the need to support partners affected by hybrid threats, in particular candidate and potential candidate countries. See the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/l7e (CG)