'Facing Hybrid Threats' conference tackles hybrid threats, consolidated resilience

Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu and EU Commissioner for Security Julian King opened on Thursday a conference called "Facing Hybrid Threats through Consolidated Resilience and Enhanced StratCom" to tackle hybrid threats and preparing the society to respond to them. The event was organised in Bucharest throughout Friday by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) and the EU Institute for Security Studies, as part of the events of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union. The main topics discussed at the conference centred on ways of responding to hybrid threats, encouraging social resilience and actions to strengthen strategic communication - fundamental topics on the agenda of the European Union and Romania's tenure at the helm of the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council, according to a press statement released by MAE. In the opening address, Melescanu emphasised that hybrid threats pose a challenge to the fundamentals of the democratic system, its values and the principles that define it. "Three years after the launch of the Global Strategy for the European Union's Foreign and Security Policy, to which Romania has contributed very actively, we believe that greater significance should be attached to interdependence among different priorities that are set out there. Nuances in the case of hybrid threats, cyber threats, disinformation and misinformation are difficult to define, and we should not invest ourselves in merely designating these limits. We have to systematically approach their interaction because that gives us a complex picture of the real threats and these actions should guide our response as promptly as possible," Melescanu is quoted as saying. He also emphasised the need for a united and coordinated response, and mentioned the need for closer co-operation between the EU and NATO in the same area. Melescanu noted that a response that will counter hybrid threats requires joint efforts in the field of resilience and strategic communication on the part of the member states, the European Union institutions and society in general. Mentioning disinformation, Melescanu underscored that in order to counteract this phenomenon the decisive action of the governments is requested, with emphasis on the preservation of the freedom of expression. He pointed out the need to engage international citizens and partners in a continuous and constructive dialogue and highlighted the importance of strategic communication and media literacy. In his turn, European Commissioner King mentioned efforts inside the EU to combat hybrid threats, misinformation and cyber-attacks. He highlighted the need to ensure the security of critical digital infrastructure. The conference was attended by experts and senior officials from the EU member states and EU institutions. The event was designed to bring together professionals from all over Europe to encourage co-operation and exchange of experience and good practice in the areas under consideration. The "Facing Hybrid Threats through Consolidated Resilience and Enhanced StratCom" conference is said to be an actions that indicates Romania's decision to play an important role at European level in combatting misinformation and hybrid threats, "being a success of the effort deployed by Romania it this direction during the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union," said MAE. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Claudia Stanescu;l EN - author: corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)