Action Plan for Coordinated Countering of Hybrid Threats is to shore up State and societal resilience against hybrid activity

The Slovak Government has given its approval to the Ministry of Defence's proposed Action Plan for the Coordinated Countering of Hybrid Threats for 2022-2024, which sets out Slovakia's ambition to shore up the resilience of the State and society against hybrid threats.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “The government-endorsed document is the culmination of years-long efforts and reaffirms the commitment of this government to countering the subversive activities of hybrid actors, which, through lies and propaganda, not only incite anger and hatred in society, but they also endanger the very pillars of democratic arrangements such as human rights and the rule of law.”

The head of the MOD noted that the drafting of the Action Plan for the Coordinated Countering of Hybrid Threats follows on from the Government Manifesto Commitments 2021-2024. Given that Slovakia lacks a strategy for addressing hybrid threats, the Action Plan builds on the Concept for the Slovak Republic's Fight Against Hybrid Threats (2018). Furthermore, it relies on Slovakia's key strategic documents that unambiguously frame the need for addressing any changes in the international security environment and new threats we face today.

Mr Naď continued: “The adoption of this Action Plan is of great importance – especially at this time when the Russian aggressor unleashed a brutal and unprecedented war in Ukraine and has been attempting to act against our interests through its network of agents and to exert influence over our security. My thanks go out to members of the Government for taking yet another responsible decision and to all those who had a role to play in the emergence of this document.” He went on to say that the document has been developed under the remit of Deputy Defence Minister Marián Majer, with Victor Breiner, the Senior Advisor on Hybrid Threats from the Office of the Defence Minister, being the chief coordinator.

Other goals of the Action Plan include reinforcing the interdepartmental coordination on and response to hybrid activity against Slovakia, raising societal awareness of hybrid threats, building the system of strategic communications as a whole-of-government and pan-Defence approach, and last but not least, strengthening international collaborative efforts to counter hybrid threats.

With the launch of the Action Plan for the Coordinated Countering of Hybrid Threats for 2022-2024, the SVK Government takes action against the security risks posed by foreign investments in critical infrastructure, media and academia, the influencing of elections, and the activity of paramilitary groups disloyal to the State. The document makes setting up the Permanent Working Committee of the SVK Security Council for Hybrid Threats a crucial follow-up task.