The European Parliament demands a firmer EU response to hybrid threats

Russia most dangerous, Belarus, China, Iran and North Korea also active

Increase intelligence sharing among member states and improve EU coordination for early detection

Cooperation with NATO needed to strengthen European preparedness and resilience

In a new report, MEPs warn of increased hybrid attacks against the EU, with Russia and its proxies the main culprits.

Describing the EU as neither at peace nor in open armed conflict, the report adopted by the European Parliament says hybrid attacks are deliberate, combined, intelligence-led and coordinated acts by states – including through non-state actors, intermediaries and proxies. Their purpose is to destabilise the EU and its member states and spanning multiple domains simultaneously (information and cognitive warfare, cyber security, critical infrastructure). These attacks, MEPs say, are designed to appear as isolated incidents and remain below the threshold of armed conflict, while having the potential to produce effects comparable to conventional aggression, making attribution and an effective response significantly harder.

Parliament says Russia - acting directly or via multiple proxies such as Belarus - is the gravest hybrid-threat state actor targeting the EU. They also note that China, Iran, North Korea and others have also been implementing hybrid campaigns aimed at undermining European democracies and eroding the EU’s security interests.

From fragmentation to a decisive response

Against the backdrop of a deteriorating security landscape, MEPs argue the EU must move from a reactive to a proactive strategy, including using its capabilities to disrupt, deter and respond to hybrid threats and credibly raise the cost of hostile action. Central to this is, MEPs say, prevention, early threat anticipation, continuous monitoring of strategic vulnerabilities to neutralise hostile actions before they have systemic effects, and a shared threat picture. Parliament wants EU member states to increase intelligence sharing and to strengthen the EU’s so-called single intelligence analysis capacity (SIAC) , which the report says should be the single hub for intelligence in the EU institutions .

MEPs also call for the EU’s role in aggregating cross-border data to detect patterns of coordinated hybrid campaigns and coordinating common procedures for joint situational awareness and attribution to be formally recognised as EU coordination and support competences. They also demand a new EU cross-cutting action plan against hybrid warfare.

The report also identifies the limits of EU action, with MEPs arguing that a strengthened EU role must respect member state responsibilities, the need-to-know principle, and the protection of national classified information.

MEPs also call for increased EU-NATO cooperation to strengthen European preparedness, resilience, and deterrence against hybrid threats).

The text was approved by 470 votes in favour, 129 against with 62 abstentions.

Quote

“For too long, Europe has feared that a stronger response would provoke Moscow. But the opposite is the case. Putin keeps crossing one boundary after another, and Russia’s hybrid warfare is becoming increasingly kinetic. The Kremlin sees our hesitation as weakness. We must not be afraid to respond firmly and to impose real consequences for Russian aggression,” rapporteur Rasa Juknevičienė (EPP, Lithuania) said.