Fortifying Defence: Strengthening Critical Energy Infrastructure against Hybrid Threats

Source: European Defence Agency (EDA)

The European security order is undergoing a fundamental transformation, where hybrid threats will likely increase. In this context, this study aims to respond to the evolving geopolitical landscape and provide the ministries of defence (MoDs) with a more comprehensive conceptual basis to facilitate the development of the necessary measures to counter hybrid threats. This will enhance the resilience of critical energy infrastructure (CEI) necessary for the functioning of the defence sector.

To ensure EU-wide coherence, this study follows the conceptual framework on hybrid threats and the comprehensive resilience ecosystem (CORE) model developed by JRC and the Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki (HCoE). Thus, it focuses on (sub)domains for identifying defence-related CEI interdependencies and investigating the tools that adversaries could employ to undermine their performance.

In addition, this document provides MoDs and other stakeholders with recommendations for increasing the resilience of defence-related CEI against hybrid threats by promoting civil-military collaboration at the EU level, raising awareness, sharing best practices, stimulating discussion and triggering critical thinking on how to maintain the energy supply and thus safeguard military performance.

Read the full document on the European Defence Agency (EDA) website.

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