Germany aims to enhance resilience to hybrid threats from cyberattacks and disinformation through working with its European Union partners, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday.
“Hybrid threats work like thousands of individual, barely noticeable pinpricks, which in their totality are a brutal blow against our democracy and infrastructure in Europe,” Baerbock said on meeting her Lithuanian counterpart Kęstutis Budrys in Berlin.
Germany would to this end make proposals within the European Union to make Europe more resilient, she said. The proposals are being seen as directed at threats from Russia and China.
The German aim is for the EU to be able to react rapidly and decisively at any time on the basis of a reliable common situation report, according to Baerbock.
Information exchange between member states should be expanded with a systematic alert system and smoother cooperation between the EU and NATO, she said.
Companies needed to be included in regular exercises and stress tests to boost EU resilience, she said.
Security and defence policy needed to be resistant to hybrid tactics, and these tactics should be countered more effectively with sanctions where those responsible could be identified.
Baerbock said that the Baltic Sea region had become a focus of geopolitical tensions, including hybrid threats, which had reached an unprecedented level.
“Hybrid sounds harmless, technical somehow,” although the dangers were real, she said.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (R) and Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys speak during a press conference at the Federal Foreign Office. Kay Nietfeld/dpa
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (R) and Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys speak during a press conference at the Federal Foreign Office. Kay Nietfeld/dpa
