Europe’s evolving digital ecosystem, rising cognitive vulnerabilities, increasing hybrid aggression, and even recent violations of EU airspace all point to a growing need for stronger defences against psychological operations designed to distort perceptions and influence behaviour.
With the European Commission’s new Communication on the European Democracy Shield, the urgency to strengthen cognitive security across the Union has never been clearer.
While the EU has taken important steps, cognitive dimensions of security have so far been addressed only indirectly. Building on NATO’s work on cognitive warfare, the cognitive security framework shifts the focus from adversaries’ tactics to Europe’s own structural vulnerabilities.
A recent EUISS policy brief proposes a three-tier roadmap – strategic, operational and tactical – to help the EU and its Member States better understand cognitive risks and build resilience.
Yet, major questions remain:
- Why do democracies continue to be vulnerable to information manipulation?
- How to effectively build resilience through cognitive security?
- What are the risks of growing cognitive “indétermination”?
- What are the national security implications in today’s geopolitically charged environment?
- Can the European Democracy Shield provide a critical breakthrough?
- And how can cognitive resilience and psychological defence strengthen democracy and stability in Europe and beyond?
Join us live as we explore how cognitive security can be integrated into EU defence strategies and how national, EU and transnational measures can enhance preparedness in an evolving threat landscape.
With:
- Ondrej Ditrych, Senior Analyst for Russia and the Eastern Neighbourhood, EUISS.
- Maria Jontén, Senior Project Director, Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.
- Nad’a Kovalčíková, Senior Analyst for Transnational Security and project Director of the EU-funded initiative "Countering Foreign Interference", EUISS.
