HYBRID THREATS AS A CHALLENGE FOR EU SECURITY POLICY

Abstract

This article focuses on the EU’s resilience to hybrid threats from an institutional, legal and societal perspective. The authors try to outline the characteristics of a pan-European approach to countering hybrid threats and emphasise the need for EU leadership in setting information security standards. The main objective of the study is to identify ways and means for the EU to prevent hybrid threats in order to ensure information security. Among the tasks set are: to consider the peculiarities of information security formation in the EU; to highlight the conceptual specificity of “hybrid threats”; and to focus on the analysis of the EU’s institutional capacity to face hybrid challenges. The first part of the article examines the state of formation of the European Union’s information policy, namely common European approaches and specialised protection structures. The second part of the study is devoted to the definition of “hybrid threats” and “countering hybrid threats”. The authors point to the prevalence of a “soft approach” within EU policy, focusing on interaction and dialogue. Particular attention is paid to the establishment of an institutional and legal framework for countering hybrid threats and the development of inter-institutional cooperation with NATO. As a result, authors summarise the current critical vulnerabilities that underline the need for proactive political engagement and resource allocation by the EU to respond to and prevent hybrid challenges and threats.