“We’re very uncomfortable about [the] emergency security protocol,” the diplomat said. “We already have mechanisms in place. If there is a crisis, we have the Integrated Political Response (IPCR) that worked very well during the pandemic and other crises.”
Putin doesn’t care
Established under the scope of the Lisbon Treaty, the IPCR allows the holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, at the request of an affected country, to call emergency meetings involving experts from NATO, the U.N., or other international bodies.
In the event of a major hybrid attack, the onus remains on the affected country to decide on the best way forward. France triggered the EU’s Article 42.7 following the 2015 Bataclan attacks, marking the only time the mutual assistance clause has been invoked. However, Lungescu noted this was a “political decision” by Paris that did not lead to major displays of mutual assistance beyond coordinating terror investigations between France and Belgium.
To avoid confusion over who does what during a mass-casualty event, Lungescu said both parties should divide labor: NATO handling intelligence-sharing and military deterrence, and the EU focusing on civilian response.
For Tiilikainen, EU efforts to coordinate responses to hybrid attacks are useful — within limits. However, she noted they are “not comparable with resilience measures at a national level,” such as Finland’s “comprehensive security” approach.
Lungescu also stressed that Moscow makes no distinction between the two organizations. “Frankly, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin doesn’t care whether decisions are taken by Coreper 2 or the NAC,” she added, referring to the meetings of EU ambassadors or NATO’s decision-making body. “This is not how Moscow thinks.”
Victor Jack contributed reporting.
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