EU High Representative Federica Mogherini will today deliver a keynote speech at the conference "Hybrid Threats and the EU – State of Play and future progress" before travelling to Helsinki for the official inauguration of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, established in April together with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

A Finnish initiative, the Centre will contribute to security in Europe with strengthened cooperation between the EU and NATO, in line with the Joint Communication on countering hybrid threats that was adopted in April 2016.

The Centre follows a comprehensive, multinational, multidisciplinary and academic based approach. It works to:

1. encourage strategic-level dialogue and consultations between and among Participants, the EU and NATO;
2. conduct research and analysis into hybrid threats and methods to counter such threats;
3. develop doctrine, conduct training and arrange exercises aimed at enhancing Participants’ individual capabilities, as well as interoperability between and among Participants, the EU, and NATO for countering hybrid threats;
4. engage with and invite dialogue with government and non-government experts from a wide range of professional sectors and disciplines; and
5. involve or cooperate with, communities of interest focusing on specific issues that can make up hybrid threats, on methodologies for understanding these issues, and on ways to adjust organisations to better cope with such threats.