Von der Leyen proposes Europe-wide emergency security protocol to counter hybrid threats
Ursula von der Leyen has called for a European emergency security protocol to coordinate responses to hybrid threats such as drone incursions, sabotage and cyberattacks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for a new Europe-wide mechanism to respond to hybrid threats, telling lawmakers in the European Parliament in Strasbourg that the bloc needs a coordinated playbook for incidents that stop short of armed aggression but still threaten national security.
"Europe needs its own counter-hybrid playbook," she said, adding that there was an urgent need for consensus on how to respond to such incidents. She described the proposed tool as a mechanism to flank NATO's Article 4, which allows member countries that believe their territory is under threat to convene emergency consultations.
"I believe it is time for Europe's own Article 4 — an Emergency Security Protocol," von der Leyen said. Under her proposal, a trigger by one member state would bring all member states together to coordinate a European response aimed at deterring further escalation and limiting the impact.
She said the idea was distinct from NATO's Article 5, the collective security guarantee that obliges allies to come to the aid of a member under attack, most likely with military force.
Von der Leyen also said she believed Europe should go further, reviving a long-discussed leaders' format focused on the security of the continent, with partners such as Canada, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Norway involved.
Her remarks come amid a series of incidents across Europe that officials in Germany, Denmark and Poland have in recent weeks blamed on Russia, including drone incursions, sabotage, arson, surveillance of defence facilities and what was described as a plan to use a drone carrying explosives to attack an airport.
Earlier this week, Italian fighter jets working with NATO shot down a drone over EU member Lithuania — the first time one has been downed in its airspace. The drone was believed to have entered from Belarus, an ally of Russia.
Europe and NATO have been grappling with how best to respond to hostile acts that fall below the threshold of outright aggression and do not meet the Article 5 bar for a military response.