The European Commission has unveiled plans for a new European Security Council (ESC) designed to give the EU a faster, more coordinated response to the rising tide of hybrid warfare. The proposal, outlined by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her 2026 State of the Union address, aims to cut through the bloc's often-cumbersome decision-making processes when dealing with grey-zone attacks such as cyber intrusions, infrastructure sabotage, and drone incursions.
Von der Leyen described the initiative as relying on a "counter-hybrid playbook" to address these threats, which sit below the threshold of conventional armed conflict and therefore do not automatically trigger NATO's collective defence clause. Speaking at Euronews' Defence & Space Summit, EU defence chief Andrius Kubilius stressed that the ESC would be "not against NATO" but "exactly the opposite," adding: "It is how to make Europe stronger, which will make NATO stronger."
Three pillars of the proposal
The initiative rests on three main elements. First, the ESC itself would function as an agile political forum, expanding the regular EU leaders' summits to include key non-EU partners such as the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Norway, and Canada. Second, an Emergency Security Protocol would oblige member states to convene immediately if any of them faces a hybrid threat. Third, a dedicated fund for Strategic Defence Enablers would channel joint investments into air defence, cyber security, and space systems.
The EU's goal is to close a critical gap in Europe's fragmented and slow defence architecture. State-sponsored hybrid operations—ranging from sabotage of undersea cables to disinformation campaigns—often leave EU institutions scrambling to respond, as they do not meet the criteria for NATO's Article 5 mutual defence guarantee. Steven Blockmans, deputy director at the International Centre for Defence and Security, noted that the idea has gained traction "amid growing doubts about the US willingness to uphold NATO's Article 5 security guarantee and fears that Washington might block political decision-making... or frustrate operational command within NATO."
The ESC aims to tackle three specific problems. It would bypass the EU's unanimity requirement in foreign policy through qualified majority voting, preventing a single veto from paralysing action. The Emergency Security Protocol would serve as a European analogue to NATO's Article 4, bringing member states together to coordinate responses to non-military crises. And by including non-EU partners, it would transform ad-hoc coalitions into a permanent security framework.
This fits into the EU's broader ambition of strategic autonomy and a self-reliant European Defence Union. Over the next decade, the bloc hopes to reduce its dependence on US military logistics by unifying its fragmented defence sector and streamlining joint procurement and manufacturing. As Brussels pushes new security body to counter hybrid threats, the ESC is seen as a key step in that direction.
How the ESC would work
The ESC would provide a permanent, year-round forum for crisis management. Luigi Scazzieri, senior policy analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies, explained that the idea is to have "dedicated meetings of the EU Council, calling it the European Security Council [to] have more structured discussions about security and defence in a way that the EU Council wouldn't always have." The goal is to strengthen political coordination and provide strategic, long-term direction, bringing together EU leaders and international partners, including Ukraine, Canada, Norway, and the UK.
The ESC would also enable members to plan and execute rapid defence responses, including to hybrid and unconventional attacks. Ionela Maria Ciolan, Research Officer on security and defence at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, said: "The ESC would close the gap between detecting a threat and deciding what Europeans will do about it."
Under the proposed Emergency Security Protocol, modelled on NATO's Article 4, any member state that believes its security, territorial integrity, or political independence is under threat could call for consultations and coordinate a response. Ciolan stressed that the protocol would not replace Articles 42(7) or 222 of the EU treaties, which require member states to assist another member under armed attack or terrorist assault. Instead, it would provide "an earlier political entry point," triggering an emergency meeting and assessing whether the situation calls for national action, EU crisis tools, NATO consultations, or, in the worst cases, consideration of a treaty clause.
Relationship with NATO
The proposed ESC is not intended to override NATO. It would act independently of Washington while keeping NATO as the central framework for collective defence. Scazzieri clarified the division of labour: "Essentially NATO does collective defence, this European Security Council would not." NATO handles military defence under Article 5, while the ESC focuses on grey-zone and hybrid threats. The Emergency Security Protocol would trigger immediate security consultations without relying on the US.
Scazzieri added that the ESC would be about "sanctions, how to prioritise spending limited EU money, bringing together a slightly different group of countries that doesn't come together in a NATO context, including those EU members that are not NATO members."
Despite official claims of synergy, some member states, notably Estonia, have expressed concerns about duplication with NATO. Parallel alert systems and consultation bodies could create bureaucratic confusion, and excluding the US might increase transatlantic tensions. However, Scazzieri sees little risk of duplication because the two organisations would use different tools and perform different functions. "There's obviously always going to be a bit of turf-war bias in institutions where NATO, for example, might see the EU is now setting up a European Security Council. Are they going to discuss the same things? I see little risk of that because all of this would be seen from the EU's toolbox," he said.
The proposal comes as NATO warns Russia as hybrid attacks escalate across Europe, and as the EU seeks to bolster its own capabilities. Whether the ESC can overcome institutional resistance and deliver on its promise remains to be seen, but it marks a significant step in Europe's quest for a more autonomous and resilient security posture.
