JOINT REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of the Joint Framework on countering hybrid threats from July 2017 to June 2018
Date: 2018-06-13
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EU office or agency, EU-NATO cooperation, European defence policy, European neighbourhood policy, European security, disinformation, fight against crime, information security, information warfare, terrorism

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 13.6.2018 JOIN(2018) 14 final  JOINT REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of the Joint Framework on countering hybrid threats from July 2017 to June 2018  
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
The  Joint  Framework  on  countering  hybrid  threats  -  A  European  Union  response1  places 
situational awareness, resilience and response at the heart of the EU action to hybrid threats. 
Improving  our  capacity  to  detect  and  understand  malicious  hybrid  activities  early  and 
enhancing  the  resilience  of  critical  infrastructure  (e.g.  transport,  communications,  energy, 
space and finance) of our societies and institutions are fundamental to improve our ability to 
withstand  and  recover  from  attacks.  Countering  hybrid  threats  requires  actions  from  both 
Member States and the European institutions. The first report on the implementation of the 22 
actions identified in the Joint Framework was presented to the Council on 19 July 20172. This 
2018 update provides an overview of progress since the summer of last year.  

Considerable progress has been made in all four priority areas of action: 

•  Improving situational awareness 

•  Building resilience 

•  Strengthening the ability of Member States and the Union to prevent and respond to 
crisis, and to ensure quick and coordinated recovery 

•  Enhancing cooperation with NATO to ensure complementarity of measures 

RECOGNISING THE HYBRID NATURE OF THREATS 

Action 1:   Member States to launch a hybrid risk survey 

A Friends of Presidency Group, chaired by the rotating Presidency, has been established by 
the  Council  to  take  work  forward.  In  December  2017,  Member  States  launched  a  survey  to 
assess  their  key  vulnerabilities  to  hybrid  threats.  Based  on  Member  States'  responses  the 
Presidency will present a report to COREPER  likely before the end of June 2018. 

With a view to the expiration of the Group's mandate at the end of June 2018, the FoP, at their 
meeting  in  April,  started  discussions  on  the  future  mandate  based  on  the  Presidency's 
proposal.  This  would  extend  the  present  mandate  until  2020  and  broaden  its  content; 
according to the present draft the mandate would include tasks related to analysing options to 
strengthen Member States' preparedness and resilience, observing national developments and 
help  coordinate  policies  in  the  hybrid  domain,  support  Council  work  on  EU-NATO 
cooperation  in  the  field  of  countering  hybrid  threats  and  exchanging  information  and 
developing a common understanding on hybrid threats. 

ORGANISING THE EU RESPONSE: IMPROVING AWARENESS 

Action 2:  Creation of an EU Hybrid Fusion Cell 

The EU Hybrid Fusion Cell, situated within the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre as part 
of  the  EU's  civil/military  Single  Intelligence  Analysis  Capacity,  draws  on  both  civil  and 
military  analysts  and  contributions  of  Member  States  intelligence  and  security  services.  It 
achieved its full operational capacity in July 2017, a status confirmed during the 2017 Parallel 
and Coordinated Exercise with NATO (PACE17). The EU Hybrid Fusion Cell receives and 

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Framework on countering hybrid threats – a European Union response, JOIN(2017) 30 final. 

JOIN (2016) 18 final. 
Joint Report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Joint 

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analyses classified intelligence and open source information concerning hybrid threats from a 
wide range of stakeholders.  Reports and analyses  are then shared across the EU institutions 
and  Member  States  to  inform  decision-making.  The  EU  Hybrid  Fusion  Cell  to  date  has 
produced  over  100  products  pertaining  to  hybrid  threats.  CERT-EU  (EU  institutions' 
Computer Emergency Response Team) contributes to the work of the EU Hybrid Fusion Cell 
by  sharing  information  on  emerging  or  ongoing  cyber-threats.  However,  in  the  domains  of 
Chemical,  Biological,  Radiological  and  Nuclear  threats,  Cyber  and  Counter-Intelligence, 
specific expertise is currently limited. 

In  order  to  amplify  this  work,  the  EU  Hybrid  Fusion  Cell  has  established  a  network  of 
National Points of Contact. To date, 26 out of 28 Member States have identified focal points 
who meet regularly to share their expertise with the Cell. 

Furthermore,  this  network  is  mirrored  by  an  equivalent  joint  EEAS-Commission  network 
focused  on  delivering  against  various  resilience  actions.  These  meetings  are  held  on  a 
monthly  basis,  with  a  focus  on  thematic  issues  including  transport,  infrastructure,  energy, 
cybersecurity and hostile intelligence activities.  

At  the  strategic  level,  the  EU  Hybrid  Fusion  Cell  is  developing  its  relationship  with  the 
European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki by participating in 
workshops, exercises as well as through routine discussions on topics to build competence in 
countering hybrid threats. 

Under the framework of the Joint Declaration, staff-to-staff engagement with NATO's Hybrid 
Analysis Branch is daily and ongoing. A ground-breaking parallel and coordinated assessment 
on  a  hybrid  topic  was  published  in  September  2017  and  products  scheduled  for  delivery  in 
2018  will  focus  on  hybrid  challenges  emanating  from  the  Southern  and  Eastern 
neighbourhoods. 

Action 3: Strategic communications 

Strategic communications have gained additional momentum in the EU with many different 
actors  developing  capabilities.  The  Communication  "Tackling  online  disinformation:  a 
European approach"3 of 26 April 2018 recognises disinformation as a hybrid threat, and sets 
out  a  number  of  actions,  including  a  strengthened  network  between  the  Commission,  the 
European External Action Service and Member States. The positive experiences of the East 
Stratcom Task Force, created with a mandate of the European Council in March 2015, need to 
be  underpinned  and  strengthened,  as  proposed  in  the  Joint  Communication:  Facing  hybrid 
threats: protecting Europeans4.  

Most  of  the  East  Stratcom  work  focusses  on  supporting  the  EU  Delegations  in  the  Eastern 
partnership  region  and  Russia  mainly  and  to  some  extent  in  Central-Asia  to  improve 
delivering positive messages and to increase outreach to in-country or regional audiences. The 
Commission  supports  these  activities  with  a  multi-annual  regional  information  and 
communication programme. The East Stratcom Task Force regularly coordinates its activities 
also  with  the  Member  States  and  NATO.  Besides  monitoring  disinformation,  the  East 
Stratcom  Task  Force  has  awareness-raising  activities  in  Eastern  Partnership  countries  and 
Member  States  about  the  impact  of  Russian  disinformation.  It  also  stepped  up  training  for 
staff  in  Eastern  Partnership  countries  for  enhancing  their  Stratcom  capabilities  and  their 
resilience to disinformation. More cooperation with NATO Headquarters and the Centres of 
Excellence  in  Riga  and  Helsinki  is  foreseen  in  the  future,  such  as  sharing  of  analyses  and 
training seminars of journalists from the Eastern Partnership region or Russia. 

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Following  the  EU’s  new  Western  Balkans  Strategy, a  Task  Force  focused  on  the  Western 
Balkans  has  been  set  up  for  communicating  EU  policies  more  effectively  and  to  wider 
audiences  in  the  region,  whilst  raising  awareness  about  and  addressing  disinformation 
activities  targeting  the  Western  Balkans.  The  Task  Force  and  the  Commission  have 
established an intensive cooperation aiming at more strategic and targeted communication and 
messaging towards the region, based on best practices and a focus on thematic campaigning.  
However,  there  is  a  lack  of  awareness  of  growing  threats  targeted  to  the  institutions 
specifically.  There  is  a  need  to  build  a  culture  of  security  awareness  and  to  increase  the 
capabilities of the institutions to address hybrid threats. 

towards  a  more  nuanced  approach 

The Task Force South, established in 2017, adjusted its mandate to reflect a shift away from 
the  prism  of  counter-terrorism 
improving 
communication and outreach to the Arab World including in Arabic. As Daesh or ISIS is not 
the  only  threat  in  terms  of  radicalisation,  the  Task  Force  works  to  mitigate  the  widespread 
misinformation and misperception of the EU. This is done by developing, in close cooperation 
with the Commission, positive narratives about the European Union and its policies to build a 
greater  understanding  of  the  Union,  communicating  more  strategically  about  the  Union’s 
activities  in  the  Arab  world,  and  promoting  shared  values  and  interests.  The  Commission 
supports  these  activities  with  a  multi-annual  regional  information  and  communication 
programme. 

to 

Action 4:  Centre of Excellence for ‘countering hybrid threats’. 

The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats established in 2017 serves 
as a hub of expertise supporting the participating countries’ individual and collective efforts to 
counter hybrid threats, through research, training, education and exercises. The Centre is open 
for participation to both EU Member States and NATO allies. Recently Italy, the Netherlands, 
Denmark and the Czech Republic became members bringing the total to 16 countries.  Both 
the EU and NATO are on the Steering Board as observers.  

In  2018,  the  Centre  agreed  on  a  budget  and  a  work  plan,  has  developed  its  conceptual 
framework and created three Communities of Interest: on Hybrid Influencing, Vulnerabilities 
and  Resilience  and  Strategy  and  Defence.  A  sub-group  on  non-state  actors  has  been 
established  and  looks  at  how  different  terrorist  groups  and  proxies  operate.  The  Centre  has 
published  a  number  of  hybrid  analyses  and  hosted  several  high  level  meetings  to  build  a 
common  understanding  of  hybrid  threats,  share  best  practice  and  seek  common  responses 
across the EU and NATO communities.  

ORGANISING THE EU RESPONSE: BUILDING RESILIENCE 

Building  resilience  requires  actions  in  many  policy  areas.  These  actions  are  not  necessarily 
specific  to  the  hybrid  nature  of  the  threats,  but  taken  together,  they  can  ensure  that  a  more 
resilient  EU  is  better  equiped  to  face  hybrid  threats.  Therefore,  when  relevant  in  the 
description of the progress made under each action below, references are made to the specific 
policy framework and actions taken by theUnion, in particular those actions taken as part of 
the work towards a Security Union. This report should therefore be read in conjunction with 
the monthly progress reports towards an effective and genuine Security Union, adopted on the 
same day.5  

Action 5: 

Protection and resilience of critical infrastructure   

The Commission has developed a draft manual of vulnerability indicators and resilience for 

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hybrid threats to critical infrastructures in the EU. This draft manual is now in the process of 
validation  through  consultations  with  Member  States.  The  final  version  of  the  manual  is 
expected to be adopted in November 2018. Furthermore, the vulnerability indicators will be 
tested during the 2018 Parallel and Coordinated Exercise with NATO (PACE 18), but also by 
individual Member  States  that  have  indicated interest.  Particular  attention  should  be  paid  to 
the further development of detection indicators aimed at facilitating early warning at the early 
onset of hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure. Hybrid threats will also be considered in the 
upcoming  evaluation  of  the  European  Directive  on  the  Protection  of  Critical  Infrastructure. 
Furthermore,  the  Commission  is  strengthening  the  scientific  support  to  address  the  multiple 
and  transversal  characteristics  of  hybrid  threats,  focusing  in  particular  on  identification  of 
vulnerabilities, early detection and indicators, resilience, awareness raising and exercises. 
Moreover,  in  order  to  protect  key  assests  of  the  Union,  the  Commission  has  put  forward  a 
proposal  for  a  Regulation  establishing  a  framework  for  screening  of  foreign  direct 
investments into the European Union if they are likely to affect security or public order6. The 
Commission  proposal  concerns  direct  investments  by  third-country  persons  or  undertakings 
which  may,  inter  alia,  affect  the  critical  infrastructures  (including  energy,  transport, 
communications,  data  storage,  space  and  other  sensitive  facilities),  critical  technologies 
(including  artificial 
in  potential  dual  use 
applications),  the  security  of  supply  of  critical  inputs  or  investments  allowing  to  access 
sensitive information or ability to control such information. 
The  Consultation  Forum  for  Sustainable  Energy  in  the  Defence  and  Security  Sector  (CF 
SEDSS II), as part of the second phase, of the European Defence Agency will further support 
the  development  of  the  conceptual  paper  prepared  by  the  Protection  of  Critical  Energy 
Infrastructures (PCEI) Experts Group translating it into a guiding policy document at the EU 
level. This proposes a framework for identifying best management practices for Ministries of 
Defence in  strengthening the protection and resilience of all defence-related Critical Energy 
Infrastructures (CEI). 

intelligence,  cybersecurity, 

technologies 

Action 6: 

Increasing the EU energy security of supply and increasing of resilience of 
nuclear infrastructures. 

Following its commitment in September 2017 (Joint Communication "Resilience, Deterrence 
and  Defence:  Building  strong  cybersecurity  for  the  EU"7),  the  Commission  will  continue 
supporting the European Energy Information Sharing and Analysis Centre on cybersecurity. 

In order to prevent gas supply crises, the Member States are implementing the Security of Gas 
Supply  Regulation  that  was  adopted  last  year  while  the  Commission  is  facilitating  its 
implementation and the cooperation between the Member States within the risk groups. The 
common  risk  assessments  have  to  be  notified  to  the  Commission  by  1  October  2018.  The 
Commission  will  receive  the  preventive  action  plans  and  the  emergency  plans  by  1  March 
2019.  The  Member  States  should  conclude  the  bilateral  solidarity  arrangements  by  1 
December 2018. 

To address the existing regulatory gap in electricity risk preparedness, the Risk Preparedness 
Regulation, that is undernegotiations, would entail rules on how to assess risks, an obligation 
for  the  Member  States  to  prepare  risk  preparedness  plan  with  certain  mandatory  elements, 
how  to  deal  with  crisis  situation,  how  to  monitor  security  of  supply.  The  risk  preparedness 
plans should also include agreements on regional cooperation, especially arrangements how to 
manage  situation  of  simultaneous  electricity  crisis.  In  the  implementation  of  the  Risk 
Preparedness  Regulation,  the  Member  States  would  have  to  prepare  the  first  national  risk 
preparedness planstwo years after entry into force the Regulation. Afterwards, plans should be 

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updated every three years. The future Risk Preparedness Regulation will also require carrying 
out  regular  and  joint  exercises  between  Member  States  to  simulate  electricity  crisis.  The 
Commission  has  already  started  preparation  of  such  joint  exercises  with  interested  Member 
States, the Joint Research Center and the Electricity Coordination Group. 

For  the  resilience  of  nuclear  infrastructures,  information  exchange  with  and  between  the 
Member States and the Commission on Nuclear Security Issues will be improved in the short 
term,  and  an  analysis  for  additional  initiatives  is  foreseen.  An  analysis  of  the  nuclear 
safeguards regulation, and for a possible  guidance to assist Member States in better handling 
of  (radioactive)  High  Activity  Sealed  Sources  will  be  performed.  In  the  longer  term,  the 
Commission intends to strengthen the  activities in the nuclear domain where  Member States 
have  a  common  interest  and  where  there  is  an  agreed  benefit  of  information  exchange  and 
collaboration.  It  will  also  examine  appropriate  measures  for  the  effective  implementation, 
within the EU, of the international Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material 
and Nuclear Facilities. 

As far as the defence sector is concerned, the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in 
the Defence and Security Sector prepared the “Roadmap for Sustainable Energy Management 
in the Defence and Security” to support the defence sector in improving infrastructure energy 
management.  The  Consultation  Forum  will  continue  to  explore  how  to  enable  the  defence 
sector to become more efficient with energy resources and review a number of technologies 
for  generating  projects  for  potential  exploitation  by  the  defence  sector  (e.g.  wind  energy, 
solar, smart grids, energy storage, biofuels, biomass and waste to energy). 

In  this  context,  the  Energy  and  Environment  Programme  of  the  European  Defence  Agency 
continued  its  work  through  the  Smart  Blue  Water  Camps  research  project to  investigate  the 
scope  for  sustainable  water  management  technological  interventions  in  ‘at  home’  military 
camps  and  through  the  Smart  Camps  Technical  Demonstrator  research  contract,  which 
investigates  the  feasibility  of  integrating  a  broader  range  or  energy  and  environmental 
technologies on a larger scale in a military environment to address energy, water and waste 
considerations while improving the cost and military effectiveness of CSDP missions. 

Action 7: 

Transport and supply chain security 

For  all  areas  of  transport,  namely  civil  aviation,  maritime  transport  and  land  transport,  the 
Commission  has  intensified  discussions  with  the  Member  States,  industry  and  other 
stakeholders  on  emerging  security  threats  of  a  hybrid  nature,  to  gain  knowledge  and  learn 
from experiences. 

In  the  context  of  the  implementing  activities  and  revision  of  the    EU  Maritime  Security 
Strategy Action Plan, the Commission is analysing trends in maritime security - covering also 
piracy  and  maritime  disputes  -  that  could  disrupt  shipping  and  trade  routes  and  that  could 
affect  the  EU's  interests.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  EU  Member  States  and  those  in  the  EEA 
control  over  40%  of  the  world's  merchant  fleet  and  that  the  EU  is  a  major  trading  block, 
hybrid  attacks  on  the  maritime  trade  routes  would  have  significant  disruptive  effects  on  the 
value and supply chains in Europe. Risk analysis and the monitoring of emerging threats in 
the maritime domain could lead to proposals to update the specific transport legislation, where 
appropriate.  It  is  also  the  basis  for  continuous  work  on  improving  maritime  awareness, 
including under the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) development context, 
where  a  new  call  for  proposals  supporting  Member  States  to  enhance  IT  interoperability 
between national maritime authorities has recently awarded three new projects (beginning of 
2018). 

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With the adoption of the Border and Coastguard package8 in September 2016, the European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  introduced  a  common  article  in  the  founding  regulations  of  the 
European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) 
and  the  European  Maritime  Safety  Agency  (EMSA)  tasking  them  to  strengthen  their 
cooperation, each within their mandate, both with each other and with the national authorities 
carrying out coast guard functions9, in order to increase maritime situational awareness and to 
support  coherent  and  cost-efficient  action.  On  this  topic,  a  study  identifying  commonalities 
and  ways  to  enhance  interoperability  and  cooperation  in  the field  of  risk  assessment  among 
authorities performing coastguard functions was published in 201710. 

Transport-related topics and emerging threats - including but not limited to ports - are cyber 
threats  to  aviation  security,  GPS  jamming  and  spoofing,  threats  to  satellites,  or  problems  in 
the  High  North  and  Arctic.  The  Centre  of  Excellence  for  Countering  Hybrid  Threats  in 
Helsinki  also  contributes  to  the  analysis  of  these  transport-related  hybrid  threats,  and  has 
recently taken up analysis for harbour protection. 

EU customs holds a key role in ensuring external border and supply chain security and thus 
contributes to the security of the European Union. The Commission is significantly upgrading 
the advance cargo information and customs risk management system to ensure that customs in 
the  EU  obtain  all  necessary  information,  share  this  information  more  effectively  between 
Member  States,  apply  common  and  Member  State-specific  risk  rules  and  target  risky 
consignments more effectively. A key priority of the EU Chemical, Biological, Radiological 
and Nuclear (CBRN) Action plan11 is to ensure border security and detection capacity against 
the  illicit  entry  of  CBRN  materials.  Adapting  cargo  information  systems  is  essential  to 
strengthen  monitoring  and  risk-based  controls  of  international  supply  chains  in  order  that 
CBRN material is not illicitly entering into the EU. The Fifteenth report on progress towards 
an  effective  and  genuine  Security  Union  provides  more  details  on  the  EU  measures  to 
enhance prepardeness against CBRN risks, and in particular the actions taken at EU level in 
the  framework  of  the  Commission  Action  Plan  to  enhance  preparedness  against  chemical, 
biological, radiological and nuclear security risks.  

In order to remove obstacles for military mobility in the EU, the High Representative and the 
Commission  presented  an  Action  Plan  on  28  March  2018  to  explore  the  possibilities  for 
civilian-military  use  of  the  Trans-European  network,  to  simplify  customs  formalities  for 
military  transport  and  to  address  regulatory  and  procedural  issues  for  the  transport  of 
dangerous  goods  for  military  purposes.  The  Commission  proposed  a  budget  of  €6.5  billion 
under the Multi-Annual Financial Framework cluster "Defence" which would be implemented 
through the Connecting Europe Facility to support transport infrastructure in order to adapt it 
to military mobility requirements. The purpose is to enable a civilian-military dual-use of the 
transport infrastructure. 

Building resilience in space assets 

Action 8: 
The Commission proposal for a Space Programme of the Union12 integrates security aspects, 
including in Copernicus, Government Satellite Communications and Space Surveillance and 

Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 on the European Border and Coast Guard 
Coast guard functions are: 1) Maritime safety and vessel traffic management; 2) Ship casualty and 

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maritime assistance service; 3) Fisheries inspection and control; 4) Maritime border control; 5) Maritime 
environmental protection; 6) Prevention and suppression of trafficking and smuggling and related maritime law 
enforcement; 7) Maritime search and rescue; 8) Maritime monitoring and surveillance; 9) Maritime customs 
activities; 10) Maritime accident and disaster response and 11) Maritime, ship and port security 
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https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/217db2fc-15d6-11e7-808e-

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Tracking Support Framework, which would cover resilience aspects against hybrid threats, in 
addition to measures already in place for Galileo and EGNOS.  
The  Space  Surveillance  and  Tracking13  aims  to  support  long-term  availability  of  European 
and national space infrastructure, facilities and services. It began delivering initial services for 
collision  avoidance,  fragmentation  and  uncontrolled  re-entry  of  space  objects  in  July  2016. 
The Space Surveillance and Tracking national operations centres and the EU Satellite Center 
have data security measures in place which take account of the Council's recommendations on 
security aspects of the Space Situational Awareness data policy14.  

In  terms  of  Galileo,  the  Commission  is    taking  new  steps  to  ensure  better  protection  of  the 
provision  of  data  which  are  key  to  the  proper  functioning  of  critical  infrastructures  that 
depend  on  satellite  navigation  for  timing  and  synchronisation.  The  use  of  Galileo  is 
considered  for  delivering  services  in  critical  infrastructures,  such  as  energy  grids, 
telecommunication  networks  and  financial  market  places.  In  this  context,  the  Commission 
proposal  for  a  Regulation  establishing  a  framework  for  screening  of  foreign  direct 
investments indicates the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) programmes 
Galileo and EGNOS as examples of projects or programmes of Union interest which may be 
relevant for the screening of foreign direct investments under the proposed Regulation.15 

The  EU  Governmental  Satellite  Communication  initiative  will  provide  guaranteed  and 
secured access to satellite communications to Union and Member State missions, operations 
and  key  infrastructures.  This  is  an  important  tool  to  counter  hybrid  threats  to  a  range  of 
infrastructures, including space, transport, and energy infrastructures. 

Action 9: 

Adapt defence capabilities and development of EU relevance 

The  European  Defence  Fund  launched  on  7  June  2017  represents  a  major  step  forward  to 
incentivise Member States efforts to increase and sustain defence collaboration in Europe, so 
as to respond effectively to the strategic challenges. Under the Fund’s capability window the 
EU  will  in  particular  complement  national  financing  for  collaborative  defence  development 
projects.  To  that  aim  the  Commission  proposed  in  June  2017  a  Regulation  establishing  a 
European Defence Industrial Development Programme with a budget of EUR 500 million for 
2019-2020. A provisional agreement on the draft Regulation was reached on 22 May 2018 by 
the European Parliament and the Council. For the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework, 
the Commission proposed an integrated European Defence Fund with an ambitious budget of 
EUR  13  billion  foreseeing  more  than  EUR  8.90  billion  for  collaborative  defence  capability 
development  projects.The  potential  impact  of  countering  hybrid  threats  on  capability 
development will be integrated in the revised Capability Development Plan, to be agreed by 
the Member States in June 2018. 

Action 10:  Health preparedness and coordination mechanisms 

Health prepardness is a very important component of the overall preparedness against CBRN 
risks.  This  is  why  the  Commission  has  taken  steps,  under  the  Commission  Action  Plan  to 
enhance preparedness against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear security risks, In 
particular, efforts have been put into initiatives to effectively share expertise. 

The  Commission  therefore  set  up  Chimera,  an  exercise  for  the  health,  civil  protection  and 
security  sectors  throughout  the  EU  and  third  countries  to  test  preparedness  and  response 
planning  to  serious  cross-border  threats.  The  fictitous  scenario  of  the  exercise  included  the 
deliberate  release  of  a  communicable  disease  combined  with  cyber-attacks  on  critical 

Decision No 541/2014/EU of European Parliament and Council of 16 April 2014 establishing a 

13  
Framework for Space Surveillance and Tracking Support Framework 
14 
15  

Space Situational Awareness Data Policy (14698/12), 9.10.2012 
See Annex in COM(2017)487 final. 

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infrastructures  including  hospitals  to  test  the  existing  mechanisms  and  systems  and 
communication  tools  at  national  and  EU  level  in  response  to  a  hybrid  threat.  The  EU-wide 
exercise took place on 30-31 January 2018 in Luxembourg. It contributed to supporting cross-
sectoral  capacity  building  and  improving  interoperability  and  coordination  between  health, 
civil  protection  and  security  sectors  at  EU  and  Member  States  level  and  collaboration  with 
international partners. The exercise also helped identify the current responsibilities and roles 
of  all  stakeholders  in  crisis  management  of  hybrid  threats.  The  Early  Warning  Response 
System  (EWRS),  the  Commission’s  cross-sectoral  warning  system  (ARGUS),  the  Common 
Emergency  Communication  and  Information  System  (CECIS),  and  the  Council  Integrated 
Political  Crisis  Response  arrangements  (IPCR)  were  tested  on  how  they  interacted.  The 
Fifteenth report on progress towards an effective and genuine Security Union provides more 
details on the EU measures to enhance prepardeness against CBRN risks. 

In  April  2018,  the  Commission  published  a  Communication  and  submitted  a  proposal  for  a 
Council  Recommendation  to  strengthen  the  EU  cooperation  against  vaccine-preventable 
diseases with the aim of seeing it adopted before the end of 2018. It aims to tackle vaccine 
hesitancy, enhance sustainability of vaccination programmes, and strengthen effectiveness of 
vaccine research and development 

From a European Medical Corps perspective, the Norwegian Emergency Medical Team was 
classified  by  the  World  Health  Organization  (WHO),  implying  its  adherence  to  minimum 
quality  standards.  In  April  2018,  the  first  regional  meeting  of  the  WHO  European  region 
emergency medical teams took place; this meeting was co-hosted by the Commission, World 
Health Organisation and the Belgian health authorities, as chair of the regional group. 

Currently,  preparations  in  close  collaboration  with  the  European  Burns  Association  and  the 
Member  States  are  ongoing  to  develop  a  mechanism  for  the  management  of  mass  burn 
casualty  disasters.  Early  October  2018,  the  Commission  and  Member  States  will  meet  in  a 
workshop to finalise the work. 

Action 11: 

CSIRTs (Cyber Security Incident Response Teams) network and the CERT-
EU and the NIS Directive 

The  CERT-EUreleases  cyber-threat  assessment  products  related  to  critical  sectors  on  a 
periodic  and  an  ad-hoc  basis.  For  different  transport  modes  (aviation,  maritime  and  land 
transport), the Commission regularly monitors and ensures that sectorial initiatives on cyber 
threats are consistent with cross-sectorial capabilities covered by the Directive on security of 
network and information systems (NIS directive). 

In  September  2017,  the  European  Defence  Agency  and  the  Estonian  Presidency  of  the 
Council of the EU organised a strategic table-top cyber exercise for EU Ministers of Defence, 
named CYBRID17 to raise awareness of cybersecurity incident coordination at political level 
and of the potential effects of offensive cyber-campaigns. It focused on situational awareness, 
crisis response mechanisms and strategic communication. The European Defence Agency will 
migrate  the  elements  of  this  exercise  into  the  Education,  Training,  Evaluation  and  Exercise 
Platform of the European Security and Defence Collegeto be established in September 2018,. 
Similar high-level  exercises by EU Presidencies are under consideration for the future. 

Action 12: 

Contractual Public Private Partnership for cybersecurity 

The  Commission  signed  a  public-private  partnership  on  cybersecurity  with  the  European 
Cybersecurity  Organisation  (ECSO)  to  stimulate  the  competitiveness  and  innovation 
capacities  of  the  digital  security  and  privacy  industry  in  Europe. The  EU  will  invest  up  to 
€450  million  in  this  partnership  to  protect  users  and  infrastructures  from  cyber  attacks.  The 
cPPP is expected to trigger €1.8 billion of investment by 2020. 

8 

 
 
On  cybersecurity,  the  September  2017  Joint  Communication  on  Resilience,  Deterrence  and 
Defence:  Building  strong  cybersecurity  in  Europe16  sets  out  measures  to  provide  a  major 
boost to EU cybersecurity structures and capabilities, as set out in the Joint Communication. 
However  effective  cybersecuirty  in  the  EU  is  hindered  by  insufficient  investment  and 
coordination. The EU is seeking to address this as set out in the Joint Communication. 

Action 13: 

Energy Sector Resilience  

In June 2018, the Commission will establish an energy sectoral work stream under  the NIS 
Cooperation Group to address the particularities of the energy sector and to provide guidance 
to  Member  States  on  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  on  security  of  network  and 
information systems (NIS Directive) for this sector. In parallel, the Commission is working on 
specific  cybersecurity  guidance  which  goes  beyond  the  NIS  Directive  to  identify  good 
cybersecurity practice in the energy sector and addresses operators that are not covered by the 
NIS  directive.  The  Commission  will  continue  to  initiate  information  sharing  events  about 
cybersecurity  issues  in  the  energy  sector  to  raise  awareness,  share  best  practice,  enhance 
cooperation  (beyond  borders  and  between  transmission  system  operators  and  distribution 
system operators), address physical measures, new risks as well as education and skills. 

In the long term, the Commission will establish a Network Code for sector-specific rules on 
cyber security as  proposed in  the Recast of the Electricity Regulation Recast  17 currently in 
the legislative process. 

Action 14: 

Financial sector's resilience: information-sharing platforms and networks  

The Commission’s Fintech Action Plan addresses the potential barriers that limit information 
sharing  on  cyber  threats  among  financial  market  players,  and  identify  potential  solutions  to 
remedy  these  barriers.  The  CERT-EU  furthermore  plays  a  role  in  sharing  information  on 
incidents. 

Action 15: 

Resilience against cyber-attacks in the transport sector 

Protecting transport modes from cybersecurity attacks is a high priority for the Commission. 
In  civil  aviation,  progress  is  well  advanced  from  a  cyber-security  point  of  view,  but 
vulnerability of the systems from a  technical failure or from cyber-security threat can never 
discarded,  as  the  recent  IT  incident  in  EUROCONTROL  affecting  half  of  Europe's  flights 
showed.  The  Commission  cooperates  closely  with  the  European  Aviation  Safety  Agency  in 
this transport area. CERT-EU has signed a Service Level Agreement with EUROCONTROL 
and a Memorandum of Cooperation with the European Aviation Safety Agency to help these 
entities and their stake-holders to deal with cyber-threats. 

In  maritime  transport,  the  shipping  industry  issued  cyber-security  guidelines,  subsequently 
discussed  and  adopted  at  the  level  of  the  International  Maritime  Organisation,  in  a  mainly 
global perspective and approach. Cyber-security in European ports and port facilities remains 
a  high  policy  priority,  considered  and  regularly  discussed  with  the  Member  States,  industry 
and stakeholders in the context of the deployment and follow-up of the Network Information 
Security Directive. 

The  Commission  intends  to  develop  a  holistic  and  interactive  cyber-security  knowledge 
toolkit  with  recommended  good  practices  to  support  security  managers  and  professionals  in 
the transport sector to better identify, assess and mitigate cyber security risks. 

16  
17  
electricity (recast) - COM/2016/0861 final 

JOIN (2017) 450 final 
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the internal market for 

9 

 
                                                            
Action 16: 

 Countering terrorist financing 

In the last year, the Commission has made significant efforts to counter-terrorist financing as 
reported in the regular Security Union reports. Most recently, in its security package of April 
201818,  the  Commission  took  further  measures  to  step  up  the  cooperation  between  the 
authorities responsible for combating serious crime and terrorism and enhance their access to 
and  use  of  financial  information,  with  a  proposal  for  a  Directive19  to  facilitate  the  use  of 
financial and other information for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of 
serious  criminal  offences.  Further  details  on  the  recent  work  done  at  EU  level  to  counter 
terrorist financing are set out in the Fifteenth progress report towards an effective and genuine 
Security Union.  

In  order  to  harmonise  sanctions  for  money-laundering  criminal  offences,  the  Commission 
proposed  legislation  with  a  view  to  adoption  in  mid-2018.  Moreover,  the  5th  Anti-Money 
Laundering Directive was adopted in May this year to strengthen a number of measures such 
as  enhanced  checks  of  high-risk  third  countries,  checks  of  virtual  currency  exchange 
platforms, transparency measures applicable to prepaid instruments, new powers of Financial 
Intelligence  Units  and  swift  access  to  information  on  the  holders  of  bank  and  payment 
accounts,  through  centralised  registers  or  electronic  data  retrieval  systems  for  Financial 
Intelligence Units. 

Action 17: 

Actions  against  radicalisation  and  analysis  of  the  need  to  reinforce 
procedures for removing illegal content 

The prevention of violent radicalisation, both off-line and on-line, has been a priority for the 
Commission in the last years. To step-up the work at EU level, the Commission set up a High-
Level  Expert  Group  on  Radicalisation  to  provide  recommendations  on  the  coordination, 
outreach  and  impact  of  EU  prevention  policies.  The  High-Level  Expert  Group  on 
Radicalisation delivered its final report on 18 May 2018, which includes a recommendation to 
establish an EU cooperation mechanism.  

With  regard  to  tackling  illegal  content  online,  following  the  adoption  of  the  Commission's 
Recommendation of 1 March 2018, attention is being focussed on reducing the accessibility 
to  such  content  online.  The  Commission  has  launched  an  impact  assessment  to  determine 
whether current efforts are sufficient or whether additional measures are needed, in order to 
ensure  the  swift  and  proactive  detection  and  removal  of  illegal  content  online,  including 
possible  legislative  measures  to  complement  the  existing  regulatory  framework.  The 
Commission work carried out in this area is set out in further details in the fifteenth progress 
report towards an effective and genuine Security Union.  

The  Code  of  Conduct  for  countering  illegal  hate  speech  online  with  Facebook,  Twitter, 
Google (YouTube) and Microsoft is bringing quick and positive results. The Code of Conduct 
ensured that the companies made significant progress on the swift review and take down of 
deemed  illegal  hate  speech  which  is  notified  to  them.  The  3rd  monitoring  exercise  of  the 
Commission on the implementation of the Code, published in January 2018, showed that on 
average 70% of hate speech content is removed and hate speech reviews happen within the 24 
hours, as prescribed by the Code of Conduct. The Code has become an industry standard and 
the recent decision of Instagram and Google+ to join the Code is encouraging. In March 2018, 
the  Commission  also  proposed  additional  measures  for  online  platforms  such  as  automated 
detection, transparency and feedback to users, and safeguards to protect freedom of speech20. 

18  
19  
20  

COM(2018) 211 final. 
COM(2018) 213 final 
COM(2018) 1177 final 

10 

 
                                                            
Beyond  the  the  actions  already  taken  against  radicalisation  and  hate-speech  on-line,  steps 
should be taken to prevent and mitigate cyber-enabled threats to elections.  

Action 18: 

Increasing cooperation with neighbourhood regions and third countries   

The European Union has increased its  focus on building capacities and resilience in partner 
countries in the security sector, inter alia, by developing the security dimension of the revised 
European Neighbourhood Policy. With the goal of enhancing Partners' capacities to counter 
hybrid  threats  dedicated  Hybrid  Risk  Surveys  are  being  launched  to  identify  their  critical 
vulnerabilities and provide targeted support.The EEAS, in coordination with the Commission, 
has  conducted  a  survey  with  the  Republic  of  Moldova.  In  2018,  Jordan  and  Georgia  have 
officially requested the EU to undergo vulnerability surveys, the first step being to tailor the 
questionnaire to their specific needs. Complementary work on cybersecurity capacity building 
particularly  for  critical  infrastructures  has  been  undertaken  in  Ukraine  through  technical 
assistance missions, while the Commission also launched in early 2018 a comprehensive new 
programme designed to enhance the cyber resilience of third countries particularly in Africa 
and Asia. 

The EU continues to discuss nuclear security capacity building plans and programs with the 
International  Atomic  Energy  Agency  and  the  U.S.  government  in  the  Border  Monitoring 
Working  Group.  The  European  nuclear  security  training  centre  (EUSECTRA)  provides 
training  on  prevention  and  detection  in  nuclear  security  and  responding  to  nuclear  incident 
modules.  The  Commission’s  Action  Plan  to  enhance  preparedness  against  chemical, 
biological, radiological and nuclear security risks has specific actions on cooperation with key 
international  partners,  including  in  the  context  of  counter-terrorism  and  security  dialogues 
with relevant third countries. 

The  EU-funded  CBRN  Centres  of  Excellence  Initiative,  covering  nearly  all  Neighbourhood 
partners21,  continues  to  work  on  increasing  national  and  regional  capabilities  of  partner 
countries in prevention, preparedness and response to these threats, including those involving 
"hard security" structures. 

In  the  Eastern  and  Southern  neighbourhood,  Civil  Protection  training  and  exercises  are 
organised  under  the  regional  programmes  of  Prevention,  Preparedness  and  Response  to 
natural and man-made disasters (PPRD). The PPRD South third phase started in 2018, while 
the  second  phase  of  the  PPRD  East  will  finish  in  November  2018,  with  a  possible  time 
extension.  Close  links  with  the  regional  CBRN  Centres  of  Excellences  and  PPRD 
programmes South and East shall be ensured. 

PREVENTING, RESPONDING TO CRISIS AND RECOVERING  

While consequences can be mitigated through long-term policies at national and EU level, in 
the short-term it remains essential to strengthen the ability of Member States and the Union to 
prevent, respond and recover from hybrid threats in a swift and coordinated manner. A rapid 
response to events triggered by hybrid threats is essential. Much progress has been achieved 
in this area in the last year, with an operational protocol now in place in the EU laying out the 
crisis management process in the event of a hybrid attack. Regular monitoring and exercising 
will go forward. 

Action 19: 

A common operational protocol and exercises to improve strategic decision-
making capacity in response to complex hybrid threats 

The EU Operational Protocol was established by joint staff working document in June 2016.  
It provided the bedrock guidance for pan-Institutional crisis response. During EUPACE17 the 

21  

With regional CBRN Centres of Excellence in Rabat, Algiers, Amman and Tbilisi 

11 

 
                                                            
protocol  was  tested  against  a  hybrid  scenario  and  proved  invaluable  as  a  tool  to  ease  the 
interconnection  between  services.  Moreover,  it  provided  the  touch  points  for  interaction 
between the various levels of response:  political strategic, operational and technical, as well 
as between the three main EU response mechanisms of Crisis Response (for external crises), 
ARGUS  (the  Commission  internal  IT  based  platform  for  information  sharing)  and  the 
Council's Intergrated Political Crisis Response platform.  The protocol also proved its worth 
during  the  parallel  exercising  with  NATO  at  CMX'17.  The  next  in  the  series  of  PACE'18 
exercise will be run in November 2018 and, taking account of any future lessons identified, 
consideration will be given to updating the protocol. 

In September and October 2017, the EU held the first parallel and coordinated exercise with 
NATO (PACE17), testing preparedness and interaction between the two organisations in case 
of a large scale hybrid crisis. In  the preparatory phase, intensive staff  exchanges  took place 
across all four areas of the Hybrid Playbooks: Early Warning/Situational Awareness; Strategic 
Communications;  Cyber  defence;  Crisis  Prevention  and  Response.  The  scale  of  interaction 
between EU and NATO staffs during EUPACE17 is without precedent. It was also the first 
time  that  NATO  participated  at  a  Presidency-chaired  Integrated  Political  Crisis  Response 
round-table; senior EU officials participated in the discussions of the North Atlantic Council. 
The lessons-learned process focused on several aspects including the interaction between the 
EU  and  NATO  crisis  response  mechanisms  and  the  challenges  related  to  the  exchange  of 
classified information between the two staffs, including the need for secure communications, 
notably with the aim to ensure, in the future, swift and secure exchange, in full respect of the 
need for originator's control.  

Planning for the 2018 parallel and coordinated exercise for which the EU will be the leading 
organisation is on-going.  

Action 20: 

Examine  the  applicability  and  practical  implications  of  Articles  222  TFEU 
and  Article  42(7)  TEU  in  case  a  wide-ranging  and  serious  hybrid  attack 
occurs 

The applicability of EU's solidarity clause and its mutual assitance mechanism as well as their 
interplay with  one another and NATO's response mechanisms including Article 5 collective 
defence  are  being  further  discussed  and  tested  in  hybrid  exercise  scenarios.  The  Helsinki 
Centre  of  Excellence  for  Countering  Hybrid  Threats  is  interested  and  ready  to  take  work 
forward  both  in  terms  of  research  and  exercising  and  thus  help  develop  a  shared 
understanding between Member States and Allies. 

Action 21: 

Integrate,  exploit  and  coordinate  the  capabilities  of  military  action  in 
countering hybrid threats within the Common Security and Defence Policy 

In response to tasking to integrate military capabilities in support of the Common Foreign and 
Security Policy/Common Security and Defence Policy, and following a seminar with military 
experts  in  December  2016,  and  guidance  from  the  European  Union  Military  Committee 
working  group  in  May  2017,  the  military  advice  on  "the  EU  military  contribution  to 
countering hybrid threats within the Common Security and Defence Policy" was finalised in 
July  2017.  This  work  is  being  taken  forward  through  the  Concept  Development 
Implementation Plan. In consultation with the European Centre of Excellence for Countering 
Hybrid  Threats,  the  EU  Military  Staff  is    developing  a  concept  on  how  the  military  can 
contribute  to  countering  hybrid  threats,  including  through    Common  Security  and  Defence 
Policy  missions and operations. 

12 

 
 
 
  
 
 
In  addition,  on  a  daily  basis  the  EU  Military  Staff  and  Member  States  are  enabling  the 
enhancement  of  early  warning  by  providing  military  intelligence  support  to  the  EU  Hybrid 
Fusion  Cell.  The  Single  Analytical  Intelligence  Capability  supports  EEAS  Stratcom  Task 
Forces by contributing military advice to help counter misinformation campaigns targeted at 
the EU and individual Member States. 

Military capabilities to counter hybrid threats will be exercised during the 2018 Parallel and 
Coordinated  Exercise  with  NATO  (PACE18).  Based  on  the  PACE18  hybrid  scenario,  EU 
Military  Staff  and  NATO  International  Military  Staff  will  have  EU-NATO  Scenario  Based 
informal  discussions  to  ensure  complementarity  in  countering  hybrid  threats,  where  the 
requirements  overlap,  based  on  the  principle  of  inclusiveness,  while  respecting  each 
organisation’s decision-making autonomy and data protection rules. 

EU-NATO COOPERATION 

Action 22: 

EU-NATO cooperation on situational awareness, strategic communications, 
cybersecurity and "crisis prevention and response"  

Countering  hybrid  threats  remains  a  key  area  of  EU-NATO  interaction  It  is  based  on  the 
realisation  that,  in  the  event  of  a  hybrid  threat,  the  resources  and  capabilities  that  the  two 
organisations can mobilise are complementary and enhance Member States' and Allies’ ability 
to  prevent,  deter  and  respond  to  such  threats.  The  PACE17  exercise  has  tested  the  two 
organisations'  'Playbooks'  and,  through  that,  their  capacity  to  work  together  swiftly  and 
effectively  in  support  of  their  stricken  members.  In  light  of  the  experience  gained  the  two 
'Playbooks' will be revised and updated. In the field of strategic communication, consultations 
have taken place support for Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Moldova and 
Georgia.  

In  September  2017,  an EU-NATO  Resilience Workshop  brought  together  experts  in  critical 
strategic  sectors  to  exchange  information  on  respective  activities  and  explore  proposals  for 
further work, particularly in the area of critical infrastructure protection.  

In  2018,  Military  Mobility  is  a  project  to  facilitate  the  movement  of  military  material  and 
staff, which  could take account  of the likely  challenges  posed  by hybrid threats specifically 
designed to slow-down Member States' and Allies' reaction times – this is an area for future 
parallel exercising and will be considered in the EUPACE19/20 series. 

Coordinating cyber training efforts represents an important area for closer interaction. NATO 
was also participating as an observer at ENISA's CyberEurope tabletop exercise in June 2018. 

CONCLUSION 

Improving situational awareness and building resilience against evolving hybrid threats from 
various  sources  remains  challenging  and  requires  a  constant  effort  from  the  EU.  The  Joint 
Framework  holds  a  vast  set  of  actions  ranging  from  improving  information  fusion  and 
exchange, to strengthening protection of critical infrastructure and cybersecurity, to building 
resilient  societies  against  radicalisation  and  violent  extremism.  The  EU  framework  for 
countering  hybrid  threats  has  allowed  for  support  to  be  given  to  Member  States  through  a 
variety  of  measures  aimed  at  bolstering  the  capacity  of  the  EU  and  the  Member  States  to 
withstand stress, to respond in a coordinated way to harmful attacks and, finally, to recover.  

The EU response to hybrid threats has also been successfully tested and exercised jointly with 
NATO in a number exercises and the plan is to continue along these lines. Close cooperation 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
between  all  relevant  actors  within  the  EU  and  with  NATO  is  key  of  the  resilience  building 
their 
efforts.  In  addition,  supporting  neighbouring  partner  countries 
vulnerabilities  and  strengthening  capacity  building  against  hybrid  threats  contributes  to 
improved  understanding  of  the  nature  of  external  threats  and  thereby,  results  in  enhanced 
security for the EU neighbourhood. 

identifying 

in 

14