The European Union Council on Monday approved conclusions on advancing the EU’s capacity to counter hybrid threats, reaffirming the EU’s determination to use all available tools to prevent, deter and respond to hybrid campaigns targeting the Union, its member states, and its partners irrespective of their origin, scale and intensity. In the conclusions, the Council condemned persistent hybrid activities by state and non-state actors aimed at undermining the security and stability of the EU, its member states and its partners. In this regard, it strongly denounced sabotage, including against critical infrastructure, malicious cyber activities, foreign information manipulation and interference, election interference, and the instrumentalisation of migration. "Hybrid threats are increasingly used to test our resilience and undermine our democratic institutions. With these conclusions, the EU sends a clear message: we will act together to further strengthen our preparedness, protect our societies and respond firmly to those who seek to destabilise us," said Constantinos Kombos, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus. The Council reaffirmed its determination to use all available tools - the EU hybrid toolbox, the cyber diplomacy toolbox and other instruments at the EU’s disposal, ranging from legislation to restrictive measures, and called for their further implementation, strengthening, and development to prevent, deter and respond to hybrid threats. This includes increasing the cost of hybrid activity against the EU for those responsible, protection of critical infrastructure, defending democratic processes and institutions, countering election interference, cooperation with international organisations and likeminded partners, and with the private sector, academia and civil society. The Council also reiterated the need to support partners affected by hybrid threats, particularly candidate and potential candidate countries. Hybrid threats usually refer to coordinated harmful activities that are planned and carried out with malign intent. They aim to undermine a target, such as a state or an institution, through a variety and often a combination of means. They are designed in a way that makes detecting and defending against them difficult and are devised to remain below the threshold which could constitute or be perceived as an act of war. These may include, but are not limited to, information manipulation and interference, cyberattacks, economic coercion, coercive diplomacy, and threats of military force. Both state and non-state actors are deploying ever more complex and sophisticated hybrid tactics. They are not only a security risk but also pose a threat to democracy, targeting its core values and aiming at fracturing society and undermining political decision-making. Following the adoption of the Strategic Compass for Security and Defence in March 2022, the EU established an EU hybrid toolbox. The toolbox comprises the preventive, cooperative, stability-building, restrictive and support measures as set out in the June 2022 Council conclusions on a framework for a coordinated EU response to hybrid campaigns.