Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
904. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if Ireland participates in the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats; the relationship of the Centre with NATO; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39779/22]
View answerThe European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) in Helsinki, Finland is an autonomous network-based international organisation that serves as a hub for research into challenges arising from hybrid threats. Established in 2017 by the EU, NATO and 9 initial participating states, 31 countries now participate in the Centre's work, including Cyprus and Austria. Participants benefit from shared expertise and training as well as access to policy recommendations on how best to counter hybrid threats.
It is in Ireland’s long-term security interests that we continue to build our resilience and ability to identify, defend against and respond to existing and future threats posed by hybrid threat actors. Ireland’s open and internationalised economy and society, which values freedom of expression and speech, as well as our robust democratic processes, also means that we have to be particularly aware of the destructive and destabilising nature of such threats. This is all the more pertinent in the current geopolitical context.
Participation in the Centre would represent an important step to further the State’s capacity to protect critical infrastructure, defend our electoral processes from possible foreign interference and develop our resilience at a national level. I plan to bring a Memo to Government in the autumn, recommending that Ireland apply for membership.
