News Archive - Page 14 of 16 - Hybrid CoE - The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats

May 30, 2018

Harbour protection and hybrid threats discussed in Brussels

Today Hybrid CoE organized a workshop on port protection and hybrid threats together with the European Defence Agency.

The workshop focused on the broad multifaceted nature of the harbour protection and the implications on capability development in support of force protection and mobility. Ports are part of national and European critical infrastructure, as the failure to keep them operational would have immediate economic and social consequences. The purpose of the workshop was to raise awareness of harbour protection and its increasing importance against the background of possible hybrid threats. Discussion covered issues such as digitalization, communications, energy provision, and financial flows and how the loss of these services could affect port operations and thus supply chain management.

Workshop hosted high-level professionals and speakers coming from policy domain, military leadership and industry.

May 21, 2018

Czech Republic becomes a member of Hybrid CoE

H.E. Mr. Ivan Jukl, Czech Ambassador to Finland, this afternoon signed the Memorandum of Understanding and Czech Republic became the 16th member state in the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats.

“We warmly welcome Czech Republic as part of our network. It is great to get their expertise in use when discussing how to counter hybrid threats”, said Matti Saarelainen, Director of Hybrid CoE.

“Through our membership in Hybrid CoE, besides the best practice exchange and common research, we would like to express our support to the idea of closer cooperation between EU and NATO countries and institutions,” said Mr Jukl.

The signing took place during the meeting of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Andrej Babiš and the Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä at Kesäranta, Prime Minister’s Official Residence.

Other participants of the Centre are Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, the UK and the USA.

May 14, 2018

Hybrid CoE participates in online brainstorm Debating Security Plus

Debating Security Plus (DS+) is a unique global online brainstorm that aims to yield concrete recommendations in the area of security and defence. Gathering several thousand participants from around the world, it is the only platform that permits a truly global whole-of-society consultation providing innovative recommendations for some of the world’s most pressing security challenges.

From 19 June, 09:00 CEST to 20 June 20:00 CEST, the international security community will debate ideas relating to six different themes where challenges and policy solutions will be discussed by VIP debaters. The discussions will be moderated by leading international think tanks and organisations that will steer discussions towards concrete recommendations.

Registration is now open: https://www.debatingsecurityplus.org/dsplus

Download the program here.

May 4, 2018

Workshop on Legal Resilience gathers member states together

Hybrid CoE organised a two-day seminar on Legal Resilience, discussing legal vulnerabilities of legislation as well as how resilience can be improved through law. The seminar brought together over 40 participants from different branches of government, embassies of the Centre’s member states, as well as academia.

The first keynote speaker, Colonel Serhii Verbytskyi from the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, spoke about the Ukrainian experience of hybrid influencing and the legal issues tackling them. Dr Aurel Sari, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter, gave an overview of how the concept of legal resilience relates to hybrid threats. In the context of hybrid warfare, legal resilience refers to the ability of a legal system to persist and adapt in the face of hybrid threats, and to support other social systems and processes in countering threats.

In the afternoon, the participants focused on a table-top exercise (TTX) during which national solutions were examined, looking at best practices, which could be shared among member states. On the second day, topics such as dual citizenship, modern crisis legislation, public-private partnership and energy security issues were discussed.

Part of the sessions were held under Helsinki ++ rules, meaning non-disclosure and non-attribution. This enabled open discussion and sharing best practices among member states. During those sessions only vetted personnel was allowed to participate.

The overall aim is to shed light on legal vulnerabilities, threats and assets and to explore response mechanisms and procedures. A possible and yet to be defined in-depth research stream is to harness the expertise of a broader community of scholars to gain a deeper understanding of a range of relevant themes and subjects.

April 28, 2018

Italy joins Hybrid CoE

H.E. Mr. Gabriele Altana, Italian Ambassador to Finland, this afternoon signed the Memorandum of Understanding and Italy became the 15th member state in the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threat.

“I’m very delighted with Italy’s decision to join Hybrid CoE. Like Denmark, which joined the Centre two weeks ago, also Italy has actively participated in planning the establishment of the Centre since the beginning of the process. It is also great to get a new participant from Southern Europe; it improves the geographical balance of the Centre,” said Matti Saarelainen, Director of Hybrid CoE.

“Italy fully supports a deeper and more extensive international cooperation in countering and mitigating the hybrid threats. Indeed, the Hybrid Centre of Excellence provides a sound platform for pursuing stronger ties of collaboration, in the wider frame of EU-NATO cooperation. Italy looks forward to contributing actively to the initiatives and networking put forward and facilitated by Hybrid CoE, to the benefit of European security and in line with the aims and objectives of the EU Global Strategy,” said Ambassador Altana.

Hybrid CoE now has altogether 15 members, including Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Centre closely cooperates with the EU and NATO.

April 13, 2018

Northern Regional Seminar discussed hybrid threats in the Baltic Sea region

Hybrid CoE organised together with NATO a four-day seminar on countering hybrid threats in the Northern region.

The purpose of the seminar was to build greater understanding of the hybrid threat environment, as well as identify areas for multi-lateral and regional cooperation to counter hybrid threats more effectively.

“Situations each country is facing are similar, although not identical, therefore we have to cooperate and maintain unity to build cohesion to counter hybrid influencing. I believe that regional solidarity also improves situational awareness as well as information sharing on these issues”, said Matti Saarelainen, Director of Hybrid CoE.

The intent of the seminar was also to discuss issues, identify findings and explore recommendations related to national, multinational and comprehensive approaches to prevent, deter, and counter hybrid threats from a regional perspective.

“We have to be better aware about vulnerabilities within our societies and improve resilience basing on the vulnerability mapping”, added Saarelainen.

The seminar gathered altogether 100 participants from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and from all the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The seminar was a follow-up of an EU-NATO workshop on hybrid risks in the Baltic Sea region organized by Hybrid CoE in October 2017.

Danish Ambassador to Finland Charlotte Laursen, Ulrich Esseman-Beck and Chairman of the Hybrid CoE Steering Board Jori Arvonen

April 10, 2018

Denmark becomes the 14th member of Hybrid CoE

Mr Ulrich Esseman-Beck, Assistant Deputy Permanent Secretary from the Danish Ministry of Defence, this afternoon signed the Memorandum of Understanding and Denmark became the 14th participant in the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats.

Denmark was represented by Mr Ulrich Esseman-Beck.

“I’m very delighted with Denmark’s decision to join Hybrid CoE. Denmark already participated actively in planning the establishment of the Centre back in 2016 and they have been closely following our activities since last autumn, after the inauguration. Thus, it is great to get them on board”, said Matti Saarelainen, Director of Hybrid CoE.

“By joining the Hybrid Centre of Excellence, Denmark wishes to actively contribute to and learn from the important work the centre is conducting. We especially look forward to exchanging ideas with the European and transatlantic network of expertise that the centre brings together. The possibility for participation in training and exercises is also of great importance to us”, said Esseman-Beck.

Hybrid CoE now has altogether 14 members, including Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Centre closely cooperates with the EU and NATO.

Maritime Kick-start

March 16, 2018

Network on Maritime vulnerabilities and resilience launched

On 14 March, the Hybrid CoE hosted an event about maritime security. Because global maritime connections are vital for nations, Hybrid CoE addressed especially maritime vulnerabilities and resilience. The Centre’s Community of Interest (COI) on Vulnerabilities and Resilience organised a kick-start seminar to establish a network aiming to create a shared understanding of the topic. The fundamental idea behind COI activities is that sharing the views and experiences of the network’s participants will provide an overall picture of vulnerabilities and support pinpointing the best methods for improving resilience.

The kick-start seminar gathered some 50 participants to discuss maritime vulnerabilities and resilience and to connect with other participants. The participating actors were from ministries, business entities, embassies, academies, bureaus, defence forces, associations and universities of Hybrid CoE’s member states and from the EU and NATO communities. The event established a maritime network consisting of, among others, experts, advisors, researchers, practitioners, government officials, officers, directors and policy-makers from these sectors and communities.

In the future, the COI will organise workshops, seminars, and possibly also tabletop exercises and other useful events reinforcing maritime resilience and shedding light on maritime vulnerabilities. The proceedings aim at the following objectives:

Shared understanding of vulnerabilities
Improved resilience based on sharing best practices and making policy proposals
Correct application of already existing regulatory frameworks (international and EU norms)
Acknowledgment of available sources of funding (such as EU, NATO and other communities’ funding programs)
Exploitation of opportunities from public–private partnership. The industry is invited to showcase the foreseen technology developments and to introduce its demands for the public sector (national and community level). This concerns especially development of the relevant regulatory frameworks
Introduction of topics for further academic research

The work will continue along three strands: Ports, Shipping and Underwater Cables. The future agenda will be kept flexible and hence interested stakeholders may join in and actively influence it. The current network will be used and expanded for further liaising.

PSC ambassadors visiting the Centre.

February 12, 2018

PSC ambassadors were briefed about Hybrid CoE’s activities

Members of European Union’s Political and Security Committee visited the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats today in Helsinki. The ambassadors were briefed about HybridCoE activities.

The Political and Security Committee is responsible for the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CSFP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). It monitors the international situation and gives recommends strategic approaches and policy options to the Council. It also provides guidance to the Military Committee.

February 6, 2018

The Netherlands joins Hybrid CoE

Ms Hester Somsen, Director for Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, this morning signed the Memorandum of Understanding and the Netherlands became the 13th participant in the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats.

Dr Matti Saarelainen, Director of Hybrid CoE, was pleased to get a new participant on board. “I’m sure that the Dutch with their wide expertise in hybrid threats will bring new insights to our activities and make our network even more international,” Saarelainen said.

Ms Hester Somsen signed the Memorandum of Understanding

“By joining the Centre of Excellence, the Netherlands wishes to actively contribute to the important work of this Centre. We are particularly interested in the exercises and trainings, with the main focus on resilience and response capabilities,” Ms Somsen said.

Besides the Netherlands, the participants of the Centre of Excellence include Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Centre closely cooperates with the EU and NATO.