1. A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO CONFIDENCE BUILDING
Air Commodore John Maas CBE RAF

2. EU Comprehensive Approach
European Security Strategy
Development Aid
Comprehensive action through consensus
Resisting hybrid attack
First and foremost, responding to and countering hybrid threats is a national responsibility.
However, the EU with its panoply of levers, could play a key role in helping improve Member States resilience.
As part of that effort, enhanced cooperation and coordination between the EU and NATO, in support of Member States and Allies, also appears essential to ensure there is no unintended fault line between institutions.
This is a major challenge.
Building resilience against hybrid threats requires countries to recognise and share their vulnerabilities so that common steps can be taken to reduce exposure to possible attack. Building resilience in critical areas of vulnerability is therefore the best way of preventing hybrid attacks from succeeding.
With regard to partners, the EU, drawing on its wide array of instruments and expertise, can also play a central role in supporting partner countries, including in areas such as cyber security, border management, and the energy sector.
Furthermore, work to bolster the effective application of the rule of law, fight corruption or reform the funding of political parties are again key ingredients in the defence against hybrid attack.
In order to defend against wide-scale information warfare, that is designed to deny or distort facts and thereby manipulate populations, the EU requires an effective strategic communication strategy. To be effective, this should draw on expertise and instruments already available in Member States, the EU and the affected partner countries.
Swift decision-making at the political level will be critical for the success of efforts to prevent and defend against future hybrid threats. Given the character of these threats, such decisions may need to be based on assumptions, predictions and trust. Locating the “smoking gun” after a cyber-attack is one such example.
Hybrid threats also require a fundamentally different mind-set, where traditional separation lines between internal and external, defence and homeland security, civil and military affairs are no longer easily defined.
SANCTIONS
POLICY
STRATCOMM

3. Important to send the right signals – point the way
EU - Goal is to take a Global Approach bringing together regional Interests
Comprehensive Approach offers hard and soft levers
Trust – born from Communication, Relationships and Physical Measures

4. European Union operations have a strong regional focus
Challenges:
Humanitarian crises
Disease
Ungovernable spaces
Urbanisation
Migration
Terrorism
Radicalisation
Violent Extremism

5. Active EU Operations and Missions "Where Trust has failed"
EUBAM Libya
EUFOR ALTHEA BIH
EUNAVFOR MED
EULEX KOSOVO
EUAM UKRAINE
EUMM GEORGIA
EUCAP SAHEL NIGER
EUBAM RAFAH
Palestinian Territories
EUTM MALI
EUPOL COPPS
Palestinian Territories
EUPOL Afghanistan
EUCAP SAHEL Mali
EUNAVFOR Somalia ATALANTA
EUMAM RCA
Since 2015
EUPOL RD CONGO
EUTM SOMALIA
EUSEC RD CONGO
Military Operations
EUCAP NESTOR
Civilian Missions

6. Confidence Building Measures: Typical elements addressed by EU
The Link to Security and Defence
Advancement of Human Rights
Humanisation of Criminal Justice
Youth education
People diplomacy, dialogue & policy research
Improved livelihoods/increased resilience of vulnerable communities
Cultural cooperation
Ethnic minorities
Women’s empowerment
Humanitarian assistance and health care
Community Mobilization
Capacity Building

7. Example of EU support to a UN Development Programme
Location : Republic of Moldova (including Transnistria)
Sector: Civilian peace-building, conflict prevention and resolution
EU Contribution: € 9,500, (100% of total)
Initiated and funded by the EU ''CBM III'' for Eastern Partnerships
This project fostered cooperation between Moldova and its Transnistrian region in the fields of:
1) Business development
2) Social and community infrastructures, Health, Environment
3) Civil society

8. CSDP Option: March 2016 – EUCAP SAHEL
Joint Seminar on Confidence Building Between the Malian Security Forces and the Civilian Population
2 day seminar with Civil Society and the Internal Security Forces of Mali
"Building Trust and to improve synergies and confidence"
Roles of police during arrests
Presumption of Innocence
Balance of secrecy and security
Transparency in Press reporting

9. EU approach to CBMs in the cyber domain
In a resolution on Cyber Security and Defence (2012), the European Parliament called on the Commission, EEAS and Member States to take a leading role in international organisations' in efforts to achieve a common understanding of norms of behaviour
2013 EU Cyber Security Strategy – better European and Global cyber security
2015 Cyber Diplomacy Council Conclusions – support for norms of behaviour
Promoting Cyber Norms, CBMs and the existing International Law (IHL)
2016 EU support for Cyber Security in OSCE and ARF
Cyber dialogues with China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil and the USA
Cyber Capacity Building to address cybercrime with the Council of Europe
EU approach to confidence-building
The EU Cybersecurity Strategy adopted in 2014 reaffirmed the EU's support for 'efforts
to define norms of behaviour in cyberspace that all stakeholders should adhere to', and
commitment to the development of confidence-building measures in order to increase
transparency and reduce the risk of misperception in state behaviour. In the Council
Conclusions on Cyber Diplomacy adopted on 10 February 2015, the EU welcomed the
adoption of a first set of Cyber Security Confidence Building Measures in the OSCE
framework. The EU has played an important coordinating role throughout the process.
The EU expresses support for the implementation of the OSCE framework and the
commitment to elaborating measures aimed at enhancing confidence and cooperation.
Furthermore, the EU is pursuing the objective of strengthening confidence-building
processes through:
•Support for the initiatives focused on confidence-building measures launched by
other regional organisations, in particular through the ASEAN Regional Forum and
the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative (NAPCI). The ARF and EU will
co-host a workshop on confidence-building in Malaysia in March 2016.
•Development of structured and overarching EU strategic cyber consultations,
sectoral dialogues (e.g. on ICT, organised crime and human rights), and operational
cooperation with the US, China, Japan, India, South Korea and Brazil;
EPRS Cyber diplomacy: Confidence-building measures
Members' Research Service Page 11 of 12
•Active participation in global and regional debates on cyber norms. For instance, the
EU works closely with the Member States and like-minded partners to advance the
set of norms proposed in the 2015 UN GGE report and to clarify the positions
promoted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) through the International
Code of Conduct for Information Security.
•Capacity-building initiatives implemented by the European Commission alone or in
cooperation with other regional organisations (e.g. Council of Europe, OAS). The
focus of these projects is primarily on developing legal and technological capabilities.
In June 2015, the European External Action Service (EEAS) presented to the Council
Friends of the Presidency Group on Cyber Issues a 'food-for-thought' paper on
international security in cyberspace. The paper stresses the important role of CBMs in
supporting the development of norms, and invites the Member States to continue the
reflection on future confidence-building measures.
In a resolution on Cyber Security and Defence (2012), the European Parliament called on the
Commission, EEAS and Member States to take a leading role in international organisations in
efforts to achieve final agreement on defining a common understanding of norms of behaviour
in cyberspace, and also to encourage cooperation with a view to developing a cyber-weapons
control agreement. The resolution also encourages closer cooperation with NATO and
exchanges of knowledge with BRICS countries and other countries with emerging economies,
with the aim of exploring possible common responses to the growth in cybercrime and cyberthreats
at both civilian and military levels. In addition, the resolution on a Cybersecurity Strategy
of the EU (2013) emphasised that efforts to increase cyber-resilience and fight cyber-threats
should not be confined to like-minded partners, but also addressed to regions with lessdeveloped
capacities. Most recently, the resolution on human rights and technology (2015)
welcomed the December 2013 Wassenaar Arrangement decision on export controls in the areas
of surveillance, law enforcement and intelligence-gathering tools and network surveillance
systems. It recalled the still incomplete nature of the EU dual-use Regulation when it comes to
the effective and systematic export control of harmful ICT technologies to non-democratic
countries, and urged the Commission to address the existing shortcomings in the context of the
forthcoming dual-use policy review and renewal. Finally, the resolution called for the
development of policies to regulate the sales of zero-day exploits and vulnerabilities without
such regulations having a meaningful impact on bona fide security

10. EU Approach to Cyber
Some proposals:
Establish Transparency by exchanging of Information about national organisations, doctrine and strategies
Establish POCs as part of a directory
Agree mechanisms and procedures for consultation and communication during crises
Fully back de-escalation, but prepare measures to control escalation

11. Brussels: Consensus – a strength worth pursuing
Luang Pradang: Confidence – a measure worth Building