European Parliament Calls For Hybrid Attacks To Be Recognized As Form Of Warfare, Names Russia As Greatest Threat

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) As Ukrinform correspondent reports, this is stated in a resolution on hybrid warfare and protecting the EU's territorial integrity and critical infrastructure in the area of security and defence, adopted in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

The resolution was supported by 470 MEPs, while 129 voted against and 62 abstained.

"Hybrid operations are deliberate, combined, intelligence-led and coordinated acts by states – including through non-state actors, intermediaries and proxies – spanning multiple domains simultaneously; stresses that they 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, thus making attribution and an effective response significantly harder; calls therefore on the EU and the Member States to recognise that hybrid acts can constitute a form of warfare regardless of whether conventional force is employed," the text states.

The European Parliament named Russia, acting directly or through controlled actors and intermediaries, including Belarus, as the most serious state-sponsored hybrid threat to the European Union and its member states.

The document also refers to hybrid campaigns by China, Iran and North Korea, as well as activities by terrorist and criminal groups, private military companies, oligarchic networks and other non-state actors.

According to the MEPs, Russia seeks to weaken European unity and democratic institutions, deepen political divisions, spread fear and distrust, reduce the EU's defence readiness, and undermine support for Ukraine.

The European Parliament called on the European Union to shift from a reactive to a proactive strategy that would make it possible to disrupt hybrid operations, deter their organizers, and increase the costs of hostile actions for them.

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"Any violation of the Member States' sovereignty must be met with effective, proportionate and coordinated retaliation measures," the document states.

The MEPs propose developing a cross-sectoral plan to counter hybrid warfare, including strengthened civilian-military cooperation, clear response protocols, and calibrated countermeasures proportionate to the severity of hostile actions.

They also propose establishing a single coordination centre between the European Commission and the European External Action Service.

The resolution calls for the preparation of a mechanism for applying the mutual defence clause under Article 42(7) of the Treaty on European Union, not only in cases of armed aggression but also in particularly serious hybrid scenarios.

The document states that some Russian hybrid attacks against the EU and its member states may bear the characteristics of state-sponsored terrorism. In such cases, countries are encouraged to use all available legal instruments, including the solidarity clause under Article 222 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The European Parliament called for the immediate creation of a separate horizontal EU sanctions regime to counter hybrid threats. It would operate alongside the sanctions regime targeting Russia's destabilizing activities and would allow organizers of hybrid campaigns to be sanctioned more quickly.

MEPs also condemned systematic incursions by Russian drones and cross-border provocations against countries on the EU's eastern flank, describing them as a deliberate campaign to intimidate civilian populations.

The European Commission was urged to provide, in the EU budget for 2028–2034, dedicated funding for protecting external borders, modernizing surveillance systems, and deploying drone detection and counter-drone capabilities around airports, energy facilities and transport hubs.

Member states were also urged to systematically adopt Ukrainian practices for countering hybrid threats:

The European Parliament said that strengthening cooperation with Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and partners in the Western Balkans was a strategic necessity, as these countries were facing persistent Russian attacks. It called on EU member states to draw on their experience and establish structured mechanisms for systematically exchanging best practices and operational expertise, including Ukraine's experience in maintaining essential services, ensuring continuity of government, protecting critical infrastructure, conducting strategic communications, and maintaining societal resilience during prolonged attacks.

The resolution was prepared on behalf of the European Parliament's Committee on Security and Defence by Lithuanian MEP Rasa Juknevičienė.

As Ukrinform reported, Lithuanian MEP and European People's Party representative Rasa Juknevičienė previously said that the EU's fear of escalation only encourages Russia to test new boundaries.

Photo: Unsplash

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