EU prepares joint response protocol for hybrid attacks

EU plans joint steps on Red Sea security and hybrid attacks

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas announced that work is underway on an emergency security protocol to provide a joint response to hybrid attacks falling outside NATO’s Article 5. The EU Defense Ministers’ meeting in Brussels also addressed the Red Sea mission, Europe’s defense readiness and support for Ukraine.

Scraper SystemSeptember 28, 2026, 06:35 PM

EU plans joint steps on Red Sea security and hybrid attacks

Following the EU Defense Ministers’ meeting in Brussels, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas announced that work is underway on an “emergency security protocol” to determine how the bloc would respond to attacks that do not fall under NATO’s Article 5. The meeting also assessed freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, Europe’s defense capacity and support for Ukraine.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas (right) with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (archive, 2025)

Kallas said the protocol being developed with the ministers was intended to establish a coordination mechanism against “gray-zone” attacks. She said the arrangement should complement NATO’s role and would enable the EU to respond more strongly to Russia’s hybrid attacks.

Kallas said it was too early to discuss how the protocol would work in practice, adding that the work should continue with EU member states and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The arrangement is expected to focus on steps EU countries could take in response to attacks that do not constitute an armed attack and fall outside NATO’s Article 5. Kallas said many member states had emphasized that the mechanism must be strictly complementary to NATO.

According to Kallas, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed such a protocol so that the bloc could establish a joint response if an EU country that is not a NATO member came under a hybrid attack.

Navigation and the Aspides mission in the Red Sea

The meeting also discussed the impact of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Black Sea on freedom of navigation. Kallas said these effects could extend beyond the regions concerned.

Kallas said two EU countries had signaled that they could provide additional support for the bloc’s Aspides mission in the Red Sea, and recalled that the mission was not a mine-clearing operation. She said there was a need for frigates, air-defense support and vessels capable of escorting commercial ships.

Europe’s defense capacity

The ministers also discussed the European Defence Agency’s report on Europe’s state of defense readiness. Kallas said rearmament needed to proceed more quickly and effectively if Europe was to achieve its 2030 defense goals.

Kallas said Europe needed a decisive shift in the scale and speed of its defense investments in terms of capability development, innovation and industrial capacity. She announced that a proposal envisaging a greater role for the European Defence Agency in joint procurement and innovation had been approved.

Support for Ukraine

Kallas recalled that funding had been approved to enable Ukraine to purchase U.S.-made PAC-3 missiles used in Patriot air-defense systems. She said missile production took time and that EU countries could send missiles from their own stocks to Kyiv.

Kallas announced that agreement had been reached in the first stage of the strategic review process on extending the mandate of the EU Military Assistance Mission, which provides training and advice to Ukrainian soldiers, by two years. She said a coordination unit would be established in Kyiv to strengthen military training.

Kallas said progress had also been made on financing the modernization of two military training centers in Ukraine. She added that operations targeting the “shadow fleet” should continue in coordination to reduce Russia’s capacity to finance the war.

Kallas said the EU’s IRINI naval operation in the Mediterranean had carried out boarding operations against six vessels identified in recent months as belonging to the shadow fleet. She also said she had received information from German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul about his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Kallas claimed that Lavrov made sarcastic remarks after the meeting and argued that this attitude showed Russia was not interested in peace.

EU plans joint steps on Red Sea security and hybrid attacks