Strasbourg, France. The European Union must move from a reactive approach to one focused on anticipating and preventing hybrid threats, Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna told the European Parliament on Wednesday. She said increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks were causing significant concern among citizens and industry.
Call for a preventive approach
Addressing a plenary session on protecting EU citizens’ data from hybrid threats, Raouna said member states were stronger when they stood united in an environment of hybrid threats and escalating cybercrime, according to a statement issued by the secretariat of Cyprus’ presidency of the Council of the EU.
Cybersecurity framework and legislation
Raouna said the bloc had built a strong and coordinated framework to strengthen cybersecurity, describing it as a key pillar of democratic institutions and the resilience of the single market.
She said the EU had developed a robust legislative framework in recent years and was working to strengthen it further, while welcoming the European Commission’s proposed cybersecurity package currently under discussion at the Council.
Support for Enisa and operational cooperation
Raouna said the Council supports strengthening the role of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity, Enisa, to improve operational cooperation and enhance cyber resilience across the bloc and among member states.
Broader hybrid threats
She said the current security environment was shaped not only by cyberattacks but also by broader hybrid threats posed by malicious actors.
Raouna said these threats were becoming increasingly sophisticated and combined cyberattacks with foreign information manipulation and interference, economic coercion, sabotage and other tactics.
EU response tools
While primary responsibility for cybersecurity remains with member states as a matter of national security, Raouna said the Council had developed a framework for a coordinated EU response to hybrid campaigns, alongside the EU Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox, to improve the bloc’s ability to deter and respond to malicious cyber activity.
She added that this includes hybrid rapid response teams, which can be deployed at the request of member states and partner countries to help address hybrid threats.
