Dr. Johann Schmid, Director COI Strategy & Defence, discussed issues concerning EU-NATO and US Cooperation – from Military Mobility to Hybrid Warfare on a panel together with Major General Hickman, Director, Strategic Plans and Policy, NATO Allied Command Transformation; Diego de Ojeda, European Commission Representative to the Political and Security Committee of the European Union; and Andrew Winternitz, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, US Department of Defense.
Key thesis advanced:
- Hybrid warfare can be regarded as the dark side of the comprehensive approach.
- It involves multiple domains and dimensions, exploits vulnerabilities in the grey area of various interfaces, and creatively combines different means, methods, tactics and strategies.
- Hence, hybrid challenges call for a comprehensive response. This includes a whole-of-government/state/society approach as well as international cooperation and coordination.
- In this context, EU-NATO cooperation – complementary cooperation based on different sets of capabilities – is decisive.
- Hybrid warfare is to be considered a “catalyst” for EU-NATO cooperation. The war in Ukraine and its interpretation as “hybrid warfare” was a wake-up call.
The overarching topic of the Forum was The Future of the European & American Security Partnership. The Forum addressed progress on European defence as well as challenges and security threats such as hybrid warfare. It also looked at ways to enhance EU-NATO and EU-US cooperation. It was conducted at the United States Institute for Peace by Foreign Policy together with the European Union Delegation to the United States of America and included about 200 high-level US and European security and defence decision-makers from both sides of the Atlantic. For further information, please visit the conference website.
