Answer given by Ms Bieńkowska on behalf of the Commission
12.1.2018
The EU supports the Steering Board of the Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats and is assessing ways and looking for projects to which it can provide concrete support.
The EU Hybrid Fusion Cell has an ongoing staff-to-staff cooperation [1] with both the Centre of Excellence and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Hybrid Analysis Branch, including sharing information and lessons learnt. The Cell played a key role in the recent EU-NATO Parallel and Coordinated Exercise (EU PACE 17).
Countering hybrid threats is one of the 7 areas of cooperation under the EU-NATOJint Declaration[2]. The June 2017 progress report on implementation of the common set of proposals[3] includes the following specific actions: cooperation within the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, interaction between the Hybrid Fusion Cell and the Hybrid Analysis Branch, collaboration between strategic communications teams, testing coordinated response to a hybrid scenario[4], cross-briefings and workshops on resilience[5] and NATO participation in the European Defence Agency (EDA) Steering Board. Staff-to-staff cooperation on bolstering resilience is ongoing as well.
- [1] Established within the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre (European External Action Service) with a view to receive and analyse classified and open source information from different stakeholders concerning hybrid threats.
- [2] On 8 July 2016, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, together with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation signed a Joint Declaration with a view to giving new impetus and new substance to the NATO-EU strategic partnership.
- [3] As endorsed by NATO and EU Councils on 6 December 2016.
- [4] The EU is preparing to take a leading role in a similar exercise in 2018.
- [5] Including on the EU mechanism for Integrated Political Crisis Response.