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

EU Commissioner Julian King and NATO Assistant Secretary General Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven

September 6, 2017

Hybrid CoE will host EU-NATO discussions on Baltic Sea region

At the launch seminar of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats on 6 September in Helsinki, Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini gave a speech in which he congratulated the Hybrid Centre on reaching initial operational capability and thanked the other participating countries for their involvement in launching the Centre.

“The commitment of the participating countries, the EU and NATO creates confidence in the future of this cooperation”, he noted.

As his concrete initiative to Hybrid CoE, minister Soini invited the Centre to promote EU–NATO cooperation in the assessment of hybrid threats and risks in the Baltic Sea region. This was a joint initiative with the Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström.

“If launched by the hybrid centre, this initiative could serve as a model for developing the assessment in other regions, such as the Mediterranean or Black Sea,” Soini said.

At their Press Point on Hybrid Threats at Hybrid CoE in Helsinki, EU Commissioner Julian King and NATO Assistant Secretary General Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven endorsed the initiative of Foreign Ministers Soini and Wallström.

Matti Saarelainen hosting Hybrid Challenge 2017 Seminar

Hybrid CoE Director Matti Saarelainen viewed also positively the initiative about a hybrid risk assessment in the Baltic Sea region in cooperation between the Centre of Excellence, the EU and NATO.

– The Hybrid Centre of Excellence is ready to host an expert meeting already during this autumn. We are willing to convene staff representatives of the EU and NATO to a joint workshop to assess hybrid threats and risks in the Baltic Sea region, director states.

September 3, 2017

Hybrid CoE will launch its activities on 6 September

The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats will launch its activities on 6 September in Helsinki in a high-level seminar “Hybrid Challenge 2017”. As a signal of the political commitment of the EU and NATO to the Centre, the seminar will be addressed by EU Commissioner for Security Union Sir Julian King and NATO Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security Mr Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven.

On behalf of the host country, Finnish Minister of Interior Ms Paula Risikko will give her opening remarks and Finnish Foreign Minister Mr Timo Soini his closing remarks. The seminar will gather some 100 participants from 12 participating countries. The discussions will be chaired by Sir David Omand, Visiting Professor at King’s College (London).

The high-level seminar of Hybrid CoE will focus on the EU and NATO as well as national approaches to hybrid challenge and resilience, practices of hybrid influencing (academic and private sector views), as well as the Centre’s opportunities to promote understanding of hybrid threats and resilience.

Due to increased opportunities for hybrid influencing during the present information age, the hybrid challenges are growing and hybrid threats have become a permanent part of our security environment. These cyber venues and vulnerabilities to influence decision making will be addressed by Mr Neal Pollard, Partner in Cybersecurity & Privacy Practice (PricewaterhouseCoopers US), and by Mr Clint Watts, Robert A. Fox Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (US, Philadelphia).

The seminar aims also at identifying gaps in our understanding of hybrid threats and in our comprehensive security arrangements. These topics will be addressed by Mr Gregory Treverton, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the University of Southern California (Chairman of the US National Intelligence Council from 2014 to 2016), and by Patrick J. Cullen, Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

The seminar discussions will support setting the agenda for the Centre’s activities. Thus, the Hybrid CoE Director Matti Saarelainen will welcome the participants and the Steering Board Chair Jori Arvonen will address the way forward.

EU and NATO welcome Hybrid CoE

The official inauguration of Hybrid CoE will take place in October, attended by high-level representatives of the EU, NATO and the host country. EU–NATO cooperation is a key challenge for countering hybrid threats – and a major opportunity for the Centre’s activities.

On 11 April, the EU and NATO welcomed the establishment of the European Centre of Excellence for countering hybrid threats, which will contribute to the strengthened cooperation between the EU and NATO. While not signatories themselves, NATO and the EU will participate actively in the Centre’s activities and are invited to support the Steering Board with their expertise.

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission Federica Mogherini said on the occasion: “As the European Union, we will grant our full support to Finland in driving the new Centre of Excellence for countering hybrid threats forward to a full operational capacity and in its future work in delivering expert strategic analysis on countering hybrid threats, which will contribute to security in Europe. The establishment of the Centre in Helsinki will further strengthen EU–NATO cooperation, particularly on one of the greatest challenges in today’s world. ”

The EU is looking forward to being able develop a close working relationship, drawing in particular on the experience gained through the European Union Hybrid Fusion Centre that operates at a technical level in Brussels.

Countering hybrid threats is a priority also for NATO, as they blur the line between war and peace – combining military aggression with political, diplomatic, economic, cyber and disinformation measures. NATO’s counter-hybrid strategy includes strengthened coordination with the European Union, and also involves our new Intelligence Division, more training and exercises, and our work to actively counter propaganda with facts.

As with other entities already contributing to NATO’s efforts to counter hybrid threats, a working relationship could be developed with the Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence in Riga, Latvia, and the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia.

Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini (middle) addressed the signing ceremony of the MoU. He is accompanied by Director Matti Saarelainen and SB Chair Jori Arvonen (left) and the EU and NATO representatives Lorenz Meyer-Minnemann and John Maas (right). © Laura Kotila/Prime Minister’s Office.

Hybrid CoE has reached Initial Operational Capability

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats entered into force when it was signed on 11 April 2017 by Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Estonia, Norway and Spain signed the MoU on 14 July 2017.

The EU and NATO have participated in establishing the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE). They are also invited to join the Steering Board (SB) meetings of the Centre.

Finland acts as the host country of Hybrid CoE. Finnish Foreign Minister Mr. Timo Soini described the host country’s approach to establishing the Centre in his speech at the signing of the MoU on 11 April 2017. At its first meeting, the Steering Board elected Mr. Jori Arvonen (Under Secretary of State) to act as chairperson of the SB on behalf of the host country.

The status of legal personality is afforded to the Centre through Finnish legislation. The Act on the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Government proposal 59/2017) entered into force on 1 July 2017. The national law was prepared in accordance with the multinational MoU.

The Steering Board of the Centre appointed Matti Saarelainen as the Centre’s Director as of 1 July 2017. He acted as Project Manager during the preparation period of the Centre from November 2016 until the first meeting of the Centre’s Steering Board in Helsinki on 12 April 2017. Saarelainen was first appointed as interim Director until the end of June 2017.

The director has recruited a core staff of 7 experts to the Secretariat during the summer. The initial operational capability was reached on 1 September. The first dialogue, training and research activities will take place during the autumn. The Centre will reach full operational capability in 2018.