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The countries are Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Norway and Ireland.
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The hybrid activities to which our countries are exposed point to a further escalation,” [Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander] Dobrindt said during a press conference, while standing next to his Irish counterpart Jim O’Callaghan.
According to Dobrindt, the number of hybrid threats is growing and becoming more sophisticated. The majority of the threats appear to come from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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At the beginning of August, one of Germany’s main military logistics hubs – the Leipzig airport – was targeted by a drone equipped with explosives. The drone was located near a Ukrainian Antonov transport plane. The Baltic Sea itself has also been the site of multiple incidents, leaving sub-sea communication cables destroyed.
To better defend against such hybrid attacks, the countries are now calling for the issue to be considered in the EU’s future financial planning.
Ireland, which holds the rotating Council Presidency, is currently leading the negotiations between the European Parliament and EU capitals to determine the EU’s next seven-year budget. On Thursday, six countries met in Berlin to call for a cut of several hundred billion from the proposed €2 billion budget, while also pointing to the need for adequate defence spending.
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The Baltic Sea states have also decided to improve coordination through a task force focused on hybrid threats. Together, the group agreed to improve protection of critical infrastructure and drone defence through joint exercises.
Their next meeting will likely focus on the Russian shadow fleet, while O’Callaghan will raise hybrid threats at the EU interior ministers’ meeting in October.
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