NATO supports proposed European mechanism against hybrid attacks

“Rwe welcome the fact that our European allies and partners take a step forward to do more for our shared security,” said a NATO spokesman.

Asked about the possibility that the new mechanism would represent a doubling of the instruments already existing in NATO, the same source of the Alliance recalled that it remains the “basile” of the collective defence of its members, including the EU countries that also belong to the organisation.

NATO stressed that this position was reaffirmed again at the July summit in Ankara, Turkey.

“ We will continue to work closely with the European Union in implementing our common agenda, including encouraging industrial defence production and ensuring continued support for Ukraine,” added the organisation led by former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The reaction arises after Ursula von der Leyen proposed today, during the speech on the State of the Union before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the creation of a kind of European equivalent of Article 4 of NATO.

“Europe needs its own hybrid threat response manual. We urgently need a consensus on how to respond to certain incidents: those below the threshold of armed aggression, but which clearly threaten our national security,” he said.

The President of the Commission therefore defended “a mechanism that complements Article 4 of NATO”.

Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty provides for consultations between the Allies where one considers the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any member of the organisation to be threatened.

According to Von der Leyen, when a Member State triggers the future European mechanism, members of the community would meet to coordinate a joint response, deter an escalation and mitigate the effects of the incident.

The President of the Commission also proposed the creation of a European Security Council, which would bring EU leaders together with partners such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway and Ukraine to discuss threats to continent security.

“We have long debated a format of leaders focused on the security of our continent,” Von der Leyen said, considering the initiative “even more urgent” before “the nature and scale of the risks at stake.”.