The EU Facing “Hybrid Threats” Challenges Course 10-11 June 2021 – Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy

The European Security and Defence College (ESDC) had the honour of co-organising the EU Facing “Hybrid Threats” Challenges course together with the Austrian Institute for European and Security Studies (AIES).

The course was successfully held, virtually, on 10 and 11 June 2021, with active participation and excellent outcomes. The aim of the course was to prepare military officers and civil servants from EU Institutions and relevant Agencies and from Member States to effectively take positions on security policies, strategies and missions/operations. The course dealt with diplomatic, institutional, legal and operational issues related to hybrid threats and security issues at strategic level, enabling participants to form a broad overview of hybrid threat challenges.

The first day of the course focused on the definition and nature of the threat and its multidimensionality, with a specific focus on the contexts of cybersecurity and disinformation.

The second day of the course started with a presentation of the hybrid threats and risks facing the European Union and its Member States, then continued by highlighting hybrid threats in the space dimension, the EU-NATO partnership and resilience with regards to hybrid challenges and future threats.

   

We would like to thank all the keynote speakers for their excellent contributions and input, and for the very high quality of their speeches and lectures.

It is encouraging that, although the course was held in a virtual format, the content of the presentations and the extremely relevant topics on current and future hybrid threats challenges triggered thought-provoking and rewarding discussions between the participants and the experts.

We would like to thank all 38 participants for their confidence in the ESDC, and we will do our utmost to continue providing high quality training.