Briefing - EU response to hybrid threats - 01-07-2026
newsare.net
Hybrid threats against the EU have increased significantly in both frequency and sophistication, creating complex challenges for European security, democratic institutions and societal resilience. Malicious state and non-state actors combine political, economBriefing - EU response to hybrid threats - 01-07-2026
Hybrid threats against the EU have increased significantly in both frequency and sophistication, creating complex challenges for European security, democratic institutions and societal resilience. Malicious state and non-state actors combine political, economic, cyber, information and military tools to exploit vulnerabilities, undermine public trust and destabilise societies, while remaining below the threshold of armed conflict. The EU and its Member States have gradually transformed their understanding of hybrid threats into concrete policies, operational capabilities and coordinated response mechanisms. The EU approach combines preventive, protective and reactive measures, including intelligence cooperation, protection of critical infrastructure, sanctions regimes, resilience building and strategic communication. Recent incidents involving cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns and EU airspace violations have further accelerated the development of EU-level instruments designed to detect, deter and respond to these malign activities. As security challenges increasingly overlap across civilian and military domains, the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) aim to ensure complementarity between the EU's regulatory and civilian tools and NATO's defence and military capabilities through improving coordination and enhancing situational awareness. The European Parliament emphasises that hybrid threats, mainly from Russia, China and Belarus, represent an escalating security challenge for the EU, and calls for a comprehensive EU response, stronger EU–NATO coordination, enhanced resilience and civil preparedness, targeted countermeasures, and closer cooperation with partner countries. Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP Read more














