Defence`s Feeds

The next meeting of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is scheduled to take place on Monday 2 December 2019 from 15:00 - 18:30 and on Tuesday 3 December 2019 from 9:00 - 12:30 and from 14:30 - 18:30 in Brussels (room SPINELLI 3E2).

You are welcome to follow us on the EP Multimedia Centre.

Recent press releases:

- MEPs exchange views with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations - 21 November 2019
- Subcommittee for Security and Defence visit to the European Defence Agency - 18 November 2019
- Militarisation of space and race for resources: What can EU do about it? - 12 November 2019
- Children of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq: MEPs to assess the situation - 6 November 2019
- AFET/DROI/SEDE meet with UN Secretary General in New York and hold consultations with the US Congress in Washington, DC - 1st November 2019
- Parliament delegation to visit the United Nations General Assembly and US Congress - 25 October 2019
...

Further information
EP Mulitmedia Centre
Press release: MEPs exchange views with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations - 21 November 2019
Press release: Subcommittee for Security and Defence visit to the European Defence Agency - 18 November 2019
Press release: Militarisation of space and race for resources: What can EU do about it? - 12 November 2019
Press release: Children of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq: MEPs to assess the situation - 6 November 2019
Press release: AFET/DROI/SEDE meet with UN Secretary General in New York and hold consultations with the US Congress in Washington, DC - 1st November 2019
Press release: Parliament delegation to visit the United Nations General Assembly and US Congress - 25 October 2019
Press release: MEPs call for sanctions against Turkey over military operation in Syria - 24 October 2019
Press release: NATO Parliamentary Assembly in London: “Unilateral military operation in north east Syria is a security risk to us all” - 15 October 2019
Press release: Russian actions prompt NATO and EU to improve military mobility in Europe - 8 October 2019
Press release: End of INF Treaty: Is arms control out of fashion? - 26 September 2019
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Chinese Z-8 Naval Anti-Submarine Warfare and Utility Helicopter

Today, the OCEAN2020 project, managed by a 42 partner consortium from 15 EU countries, has successfully launched its first sea demonstration in the Gulf of Taranto, Italy. The OCEAN2020 Live Sea Demonstration involves a total of 9 unmanned assets and six naval units from Italy, Spain, Greece and France. The deployment of manned and unmanned systems, when integrated with satellite and communication networks, aims to enhance overall maritime situational awareness and build a comprehensive picture of developing situations for military decision-makers.  

Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director General, DG GROW - European Commission, said, “Today Ocean 2020 is demonstrating its technical achievements, but also that joint research and development at the EU level works. With the preparatory action on defence research we started small. But it helped us to gain valuable experience for the fully-fledged European Defence Fund in place in 2021 to further strengthen the competitiveness of our defence industries.” 

Led by Leonardo, the OCEAN2020 (Open Cooperation for European mAritime awareNess) maritime initiative brings together technical specialists in the maritime domain covering the observing, orienting, deciding and acting operational tasks. In the Mediterranean Sea Demonstration, OCEAN2020 brings together data and information from a variety of sources; 9 unmanned assets – four aircraft, three surface and two underwater, six naval units, five satellites for communication and surveillance, four National Maritime Operations Centres (MOC), two ground communication networks and a prototype of a European Maritime Operations Centre (EU MOC) to build a comprehensive maritime picture.

The two-day live demonstration is the latest phase in the ambitious project which aims to demonstrate enhanced situational awareness in a maritime environment through the integration of legacy and new technologies for unmanned systems.  OCEAN2020 aims to achieve operational and technical objectives, these range from enhanced situational awareness, autonomy, cost effectiveness and increased interoperability for joint missions also using protocols compatible with NATO standards. The variety of assets involved in OCEAN2020 highlights how collaborative autonomy between multi-domain unmanned vehicles can provide a force multiplier.

Giovanni Soccodato, Chief Strategic Equity Officer at Leonardo, speaking on behalf of OCEAN2020 Consortium, said: “OCEAN2020 is an incredibly ambitious project. To deliver it, we are bringing together a pan-European team of experts, each of which is contributing its own area of world-class capabilities. Operationally, this project is important demonstrating the possibility to enhance maritime surveillance – of vital interest to European defence – integrating unmanned platforms with traditional systems. More broadly, OCEAN2020 demonstrates the potential and the true spirit of  European collaboration in the defence sector, having enabled a real partnership of large and small industry, academia and defence ministries from across the continent.”
 

Jorge Domecq (EDA Chief Executive), Pierre Delsaux (Deputy Director General, DG GROW), Giovanni Soccodato (Chief Strategic Equity Officer at Leonardo)

 
From sea to EDA: EU MOC prototype in Brussels

To highlight the capability of OCEAN2020 to a wider audience, a prototype of an EU MOC was installed at EDA in Brussels. Today, a demonstration took place offering an opportunity for OCEAN2020 consortium members, project stakeholders and members of the press to discuss the impact of the project and follow the exercise taking place in Italy live via the EU MOC.

Jorge Domecq, EDA Chief Executive, said, “Today’s demonstration is proof of the added-value of EU supported defence research. In deploying 9 unmanned assets, naval assets and integrating them with an extensive satellite and communication networks, OCEAN2020 takes the aims of PADR and puts them into the operational domain where the benefits of European defence cooperation are confirmed.”
 

First sea demonstration 20-21 November 2019

Today’s Mediterranean Sea Demonstration, led by the Italian Navy, tests how the fusion of data and information collected from the assets deployed in the area of operations can be integrated to create a Recognised Maritime Picture (RMP). OCEAN2020 aims to show how multiple information sources can be integrated with Combat Management Systems (CMSs) to create a RMP, while equally highlighting how collaborative autonomy between multi-domain unmanned vehicles can provide a force multiplier. The demonstration runs two scenarios; a threatening vessel interdiction and interception of a mine laying vessel before an amphibious operation.
 

Baltic Sea 2020

A second Live Sea Demonstration will take place in Summer 2020 in the Baltic Sea and will be led by the Swedish Navy.
 

Background

Funded from the European Union’s Preparatory Action on Defence Research under grant agreement No 801697, OCEAN2020 received funding of €35.48 Million. Since its launch in April 2018 the project has undertaken extensive research and technology work to reach the point of undertaking a live sea demonstration. The consortium have been involved in a significant amount of solution analysis, system design, technical development and system integration of individual assets and trials.

Information on the 42 consortium members can be found on the OCEAN2020 website and factsheet.
 

Further information

• OCEAN2020 Factsheet
• OCEAN2020 Website 
• @OCEAN2020 Twitter account
• #OCEAN2020 on social media
• EC Press release IP/19/1717 European Defence Fund on track with €525 million for Eurodrone and other joint research and industrial projects (19 March 2019)
• News OCEAN2020 kick-off meeting at EDA (10 Apr 2018)

  EDA press contacts:

Elisabeth SCHOEFFMANN
Head of Media & Communication
T+32 470 87 01 65

Paul QUINN
Media & Communications Officer 
Tel:  +32 2 504 28 24

         
OCEAN2020 consortium press contacts:

Fiorella LAMBERTI
OCEAN2020 Communications Manager – Leonardo
Tel: +39 06 32 47 39 30

Flavia NEGRETTI
Media Relations Manager - Leonardo 
Tel:  +39 33 46 37 84 22

 
EC press contacts:

Mirna TALKO
Team Leader – Press and Social Media team
Tel: +32 2 29 87278

Olga JABLONOWSKA
Information and Communication Officer 
Tel:  +32 2 29 95113

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Length of video : 104'
You may manually download this video in WMV (1.2Gb) format

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Chinese Z-11 Light Utility Helicopter

Chinese Dongfeng EQ1120 General Utility Truck

Around 50 helicopter tactics specialists from 11 EDA participating Member States as well as representatives of the Helicopter Tactics Instructors Course (HTIC), the Joint Air Power Competence Centre (JAPCC), and European Helicopter industry met recently in the Air Manoeuvre, Training and Exercise Centre (AMTEC) situated in Celle, Germany, for the 10th Helicopter Tactics Symposium, organised under the EDA’s Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP). 

 

Participants of the Helicopter Tactics Symposium

 

This annual event proved once more to be a unique occasion for European helicopter crews to discuss and share expertise and best practices related to helicopter tactics and to learn about  training opportunities under the Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP).

A central part of the symposium was devoted to drawing the tactical lessons from recent EDA helicopter exercises, such as ‘Dark Blade 19’ held at Namest 22nd Helicopter Air Base, Czech Republic, in May 2019 (see EDA webnews here). Other sessions addressed the lessons learned from operation MINUSMA in Mali as well as the experiences made by helicopter pilots in Iraq and Libya. Furthermore, a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) shared his experience and feedback on working with helicopters in operations as well as EDA exercises.

Symposium attendees also received detailed information on helicopter tactics such as aerial gunnery, personnel recovery, air assault/airmobile operations and its planning cycle, NVG training and Attack Helicopter Tactics. A representative from Sweden briefed on the country’s new Helicopter Tactics Training Concept which will include courses given under the umbrella of EDA such as HTC and HTIC.
 

Electronic Warfare

A new topic on the annual EDA Helicopter Tactics Symposium was Electronic Warfare (EW). In that context, participating Member States' experts also provided briefings on evasive training and EW threats. Another new topic raised at the symposium was ‘Non-Technical Skills in Weapon Instructor Training” which was presented by a senior Dutch aviation psychologist and instructor pilot.
Industry was also present during the symposium with a speaker on ‘Rotary Wing developments to meet future operational needs’.

Looking ahead, symposium participants were briefed on upcoming HEP exercises, including Swift Blade 2020 (to be held in The Netherlands and Belgium) which will focus on helicopter Composite Air Operations (COMAO) and national training required by the participating member states. In 2021, the annual HEP exercise will take place in Portugal under the label ‘Hot Blade’.

 

More information:

• Helicopter initiatives (EDA project page) 

 

Length of video : 43'
You may manually download this video in WMV (528Mb) format

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

SEDE MEPs meeting with EDA Chief Executive and EDA key interlocutors. Discussing EU defence capability planning and the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the future of defence at very productive meeting.
Further information
Press release: Subcommittee for Security and Defence visit to the European Defence Agency - 18 November 2019
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

SEDE organised a public hearing on 'European Space Security and Defence: What action at EU level to address militarisation of space and race for resources?' on Tuesday 12 November 2019, from 09.00 to 10.30hrs in room ASP 3E2, with external experts.
Further information
Programme
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

American M920 Tractor Truck

HMS Prince of Wales, second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier for the Royal Navy will be formally commissioned on December, 10 2019.

Tag: HMS Prince of Wales

On 7 November, European Defence Agency (EDA) hosted two high level meetings on RPAS Air Traffic Integration and the future of Single European Sky (SES). EDA welcomed senior representatives from European aviation organisations including, EASA, SESAR Joint Undertaking, European Commission (DG MOVE) and Eurocontrol. 
 

High Level Group on the implementation of Single European Sky 

The European Defence Agency was delighted to host the meeting of the High Level Group on SES. The aims of this event were to take stock the outcomes of the High Level Conference on the Future of SES (11-12 September) and to discuss the way ahead regarding the concepts promoted by the Airspace Architecture Study and the Wise Persons Group Report, in view of the Transport Council on 2 December 2019.  During the discussions, EDA Chief Executive, Jorge Domecq,  recalled that the military community recognises the need to collaboratively address the modernisation of the European Air Traffic Management (ATM) system for the benefit of all users, ensuring that some key military principles, in particular linked to ATM Data Service Provision (ADSP) and Airspace Management, which is a national prerogative, are duly considered.
  

4th High Level Coordination Mechanism Meeting

EDA also  hosted the 4th high level meeting on the Coordination Mechanism between the European Commission, EASA, SJU and EDA for the development and implementation of a joint civil-military Roadmap towards drone Air Traffic Integration. Eurocontrol was also  invited to this important EU coordination mechanism which aims to align  workstreams in the regulatory, technical and standardisation domains with the overall objective of supporting the Accommodation of a European MALE-type RPAS in the 2020-2025 timeframe, with full integration as of 2025.

The coordination efforts are of particular importance given the limitations to use military RPAS in a non-segregated airspace as this harms the effectiveness of the systems.
 

Guidelines for the  accommodation of military IFR MALE type RPAS under GAT airspace classes A-C

Finally, EDA Chief Executive, Jorge Domecq and EASA Executive Director, Patrick Ky, presented the “Guidelines for the accommodation of military IFR MALE type RPAS under GAT airspace classes A-C”. This document is the result of a task force jointly launched and chaired by EASA and EDA, with valuable contributions from several representatives of military and civil organisations.

These guidelines propose a basis for Member States and their ANSPs to conduct their own safety assessment and to develop their operational procedures and processes in compliance with European ATM/ANS Regulation.

 

American M917 Dump Truck

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Damir Krstičević, paid a visit to EDA on 12 November for talks with the Agency’s Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.

The main topics discussed during the meeting included the current state of play and way ahead in the implementation of the EU defence initiatives (PESCO, CARD, European Defence Fund), the implementation of the revised EU Capability Development Priorities adopted in June 2018 and Croatia’s current and potential participation in EDA projects and programmes.  Particular focus was put on the CBRN Surveillance as a Service (CBRN SaaS) project, a PESCO project in which Croatia participates (together with Austria, Slovenia and Hungary) and for which EDA has been asked to support the implementation (see related EDA webnews). CBRN SaaS will provide a rapidly deployable 24/7 chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) surveillance capability. Deputy Prime Minister Krstičević was also presented with detailed updates on several other ongoing projects, including on Military Mobility and the Agency’s work related to cyber defence. 

Deputy Prime Minister Krstičević said he expected the Agency to continue to be a strong factor in strengthening the coherence of European defence initiatives.

Mr Domecq and Deputy Prime Minister Krstičević also discussed the defence and security priorities of the upcoming Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (first semester 2020). Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and strengthening Europe's defence, technological and industrial base will be one of Croatia's EU Presidency priorities in the field of defence. They also discussed the follow-up of their recent successful meeting in Zagreb last September (see related webnews) as well as of the workshop in the Croatian Chamber of Commerce which was organised in cooperation with the Agency. 

Length of video : 172'
You may manually download this video in WMV (1.5Gb) format

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Here’s my latest policy brief from the series on Russian strategic culture and leadership decision-making, written for a collaborative project organized by the Marshall Center with support from the Russia Strategy Initiative. This one is on Russian foreign policy narratives. As with the previous ones, I am posting the full text here with permission from the Marshall Center. Please go to the Marshall Center website if you would prefer to read a PDF version.

Most of the data collection for this policy brief was done by Katherine Baughman and Umida Hashimova. Thanks to Kasey Stricklin for putting together the trends graphic.

Executive Summary

• This Marshall Center Security Insight provides a summary of a project that examined Russian foreign policy positions by analyzing statements made and interviews given by Russian government officials. The analysis found a set of ten narratives frequently used by officials discussing Russian foreign policy. In this policy brief, we describe each of the narratives and provide some recent examples of their use.
• The narratives described in this brief include Russia as the center of a distinct Eurasian civilization, Russia as a bastion of traditional values, Russophobia, whataboutism, fraternalism with Russia’s near abroad, ties with Soviet-era allies, outside intervention in sovereign affairs, Russia as a proponent of stability in the world, Russia as a proponent of multipolarity in the world, and the promotion of international structures in which Russia plays a leading role.
• The most frequently used narratives included outside intervention in sovereign affairs, whataboutism, the promotion of international structures in which Russia plays a leading role, and Russophobia.
• Although the foreign policy narratives of Russian officials are designed to twist reality in ways that promote and justify foreign policy decisions to both domestic and foreign audiences, one common thread tying these narratives together is that all of them have an element of truth at their core.

Introduction

This policy brief provides a summary of results of a project that examined Russian foreign policy positions using statements made and interviews given by Russian government officials. The research team monitored Russian and Western media over a ten-month period, from September 2018 to June 2019, collecting both Russian- and English-language statements. We found a set of ten narratives frequently used by officials discussing Russian foreign policy. In this policy brief, we describe each of the narratives and provide some recent examples of their use. We conclude with some preliminary frequency analysis and trends of use over time during the study period.

Eurasia Versus Europe

This narrative tends to portray Russia as the center of a distinct Eurasian civilization with its own sovereign path that is separate from the rest of Europe. According to this argument, Russia is separate and different from the rest of Europe and should not be expected to integrate with it on purely European terms. This argument reflects a long tradition of Eurasianist discourse among Russian intellectuals that goes back to the early twentieth century and also hearkens back to an even older debate about Russian identity between Slavophiles and Westernizers that goes back to the tsarist era.

Officials focusing on this narrative discussed the need to form a greater Eurasia to safeguard the region’s distinct path, often in contrast to decadent European values. For example, in April 2019, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov stated, “We believe that there is the need to aspire for Greater Eurasia, which includes the European Union, our Eurasian Union and various Chinese initiatives.” This statement highlights the significance placed by Russian officials on deepening Russia’s relationship with China and especially highlights Russia’s role as a conduit for Chinese trade with Europe.

Russia as a Bastion of Traditional Values

According to this narrative, Russia possesses a distinct civilization that embodies and promotes “traditional” religious, societal, and other values in contrast with the more liberal, “decadent” West. This has been a common trope for Vladimir Putin. For example, in November 2018, he stated, “There is one thing I do not doubt: the voice of Russia will be dignified and confident in the future world, which is predetermined by our tradition, domestic spiritual culture, self-awareness, and, finally, the very history of our country as a distinctive civilization that is unique but does not make self-confident and loutish claims of exclusiveness.”

This narrative has been particularly favored by senior leaders in the Russian Orthodox Church, such as Patriarch Kirill, who said the following in November 2018: “The narrow paradigm of the New Time speaks of globalization as an inevitable process. Hidden underneath the word “inevitability” is the western principle of global development which features liberal secularism and modern forms of colonialism. . . . This mistake is a departure from tradition, the system of passing values from generation to generation which forms the civilizational code of peoples with its cultural, spiritual, and religious paradigms, relying on God-given and thus invariable moral values which have accompanied the humankind throughout history. Experience shows that the trampling of these values has led to tragedies and cataclysms in personal, societal and international relations.”

Russian leaders have focused on traditional values, particularly in their domestic messaging, as a way of contrasting Russia with the supposedly immoral member states of the European Union. This narrative helps Russian leaders justify their caution about developing close ties with Western Europe and their policies aimed at curtailing Western influence in Russia.

Russophobia

Russophobia refers to the narrative that the policies and actions of Russia’s opponents are motivated by an unjustified prejudice against Russia, rather than legitimate disagreement over policy or differences in geopolitical interests. Russian officials frequently highlight the role of Russophobia in accusations by U.S. politicians and media commentators of Russian interference in U.S. elections.

For example, in April 2019, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov commented on the publication of the Mueller Report, “Unfortunately, there is no sign that US political circles, particularly those who seek to score political points in the Congress from Russophobia, are ready for dialogue. The document is most likely to have no effect from the standpoint of improving relations.” He added that Washington “continues to bombard the public with anti-Russian allegations. Russian officials often argue that Russophobia makes it easy for Western politicians to blame Russia for all of their problems, rather than dealing with the actual causes.

Whataboutism

Whataboutism is the narrative that other powers are engaging in the same activities that they accuse Russia of engaging in. During the study period, Russian officials resorted to whataboutism frequently, including when criticizing the United States and its allies for interfering in Russian elections. In May 2019, the Federation Council released a statement noting, “Washington, its allies, and its partners are using available instruments, including information, political, administrative, diplomatic, organizational, technical, and financial ones, for illegally intervening in Russia’s sovereign affairs, including in the period of preparation for and holding of electoral campaigns of various levels in Russia.” This statement was clearly designed to highlight the equivalence between U.S. activities in 2019 and accusations of Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. election.

Russian officials also highlighted violations of freedom of the press in Western Europe and compared Russian police actions against protesters with French police actions against Yellow Vest protesters to show that Russian actions are no different than those of the countries that regularly accuse Russia of violating human rights and international norms. For example, Vladimir Putin highlighted restrictions placed on RT broadcasting in France by noting, “We hear from our Western colleagues that the free dissemination of information . . . is one of the most important principles of democracy. . . . States should not hinder information spread through administrative routes, but rather put forward their perspective and let the people decide for themselves where the truth is and where its falsification is.” Commenting on European government actions against domestic protesters, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said, “Unlike France and Germany, Russia never uses water cannons, tear gas or rubber pellets to disperse protesters.”

Whataboutism is also used to reject criticism regarding Russian military and political influence activities abroad. In April 2019, referring to Russian support for the Venezuelan government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, “What do they mean by insolent remarks that the countries [outside] the Western Hemisphere are not allowed to have any interests there? But what is the United States doing? Take a look at the map of the US military bases: the entire world is dotted with red spots and each of them poses rather serious risks.” Overall, the whataboutism narrative is used to suggest that Russia is no different from the Western states that regularly condemn Russian behavior both domestically and on the world stage.

Fraternalism with Russia’s Near Abroad

The Near Abroad is Russia’s preferred term for the countries of the former Soviet Union, with the arguable exception of the Baltic States. The term is associated with fraternalist narratives concerning brotherly links, paternalistic relationships, and special historical and cultural commonalities with these countries.

Officials using this narrative during the study period made references to the continuing fraternal relationship with Belarus during a period of intense discussion of potential closer integration of the two states. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov highlighted the special fraternal relationship, noting, “I don’t think anyone in Moscow or Minsk would dispute the existence of de facto and de jure special and allied relations between the two countries.” Officials also lamented the destruction of brotherly ties with Ukraine by fascists and nationalists bent on tearing Ukraine away from Russia. For example, in reference to Russia’s relationship with Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said, “As for the long term, no matter what happens, no matter who is in power in Kyiv today, the Russian and Ukrainian peoples have always been and will forever be fraternal and very close . . . . This political scum will go away, recede.” Similarly, Peskov stated in May 2019 that “[Putin] has always stated that the relations between the countries’ leadership should not in any way be projected to the long-standing close and brotherly relations of the peoples of the two countries.” These statements highlight Russian leaders’ tendency to continue to consider former Soviet states, especially Ukraine and Belarus, as “naturally” belonging to Russia’s cultural and political sphere of influence.

Relations with Soviet-Era Allies

This category refers to the set of Russian narratives that relate to “traditional relations” with partners that have maintained close ties with Russia since the Soviet Era, such as Vietnam and Syria. When discussing new initiatives with foreign states that fit this category, Russian leaders commonly refer to the history of bilateral ties in the Soviet period. During the study period, Vladimir Putin mentioned such ties during official meetings with leaders of Vietnam and Serbia, and Sergey Lavrov highlighted the history of close relations between Russia and Latin American countries. This emphasis is especially common in situations in which the two sides are discussing military assistance. For example, in April 2019, Russian Presidential Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov noted “Sudan’s willingness and readiness to develop cooperation with Russia on the basis of traditionally friendly relations spanning since 1950s.” Although this is not a frequent narrative, it does play an important role when Russian officials seek to further links with states with which Russia had ties during the Cold War.

Outside Intervention in Sovereign Affairs

This category describes the narrative that certain domestic policies and developments in a given country are the result of meddling from outside powers, most often the United States, rather than the outcome of internal factors. Russian leaders frequently express vehement opposition to such activities, although many countries accuse Russia of employing similar tactics abroad. During the study period, Russian officials made strong statements against U.S. intervention in Venezuela, citing the principle of noninterference in sovereign affairs. For example, in May 2019, Sergey Lavrov stated, “Mike Pompeo called me, urged [Russia] not to support [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro, and urged us and Cuba not to interfere in Venezuela’s internal affairs. This whole story sounds quite surrealistic. I answered him, based on our principled position, that we never interfere in somebody else’s affairs and call on others to act the same way.”

Russian officials have made similar statements about how U.S. military operations in Syria and support for specific political groups in Ukraine were instances of interference in sovereign affairs. In the context of the Syria operation, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin condemned the “United States of America, which continues using terrorists and extremists as a tool of pressure and direct inference in the affairs of sovereign states.” Regarding Ukraine, Russian officials accused the United States of getting involved in the conflict over the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and condemned its influence on Ukrainian elections. Sergey Lavrov’s assessment was that, “The current leadership in Kyiv is guided not so much by the interests of their country but by the ambitions and ‘recommendations’ and often direct orders from other capitals.” When asked about similar Russian activities, Russian leaders argue that unlike the United States Russia only acts when invited by a country’s official government.

Russia as a Proponent of Stability in the World

Russian leaders frequently argue that Russia’s activities at home and abroad are justified by the need to maintain stability, while portraying opponents’ actions as attempts to destabilize a given situation. For example, in April 2019, Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov criticized Western humanitarian operations around the world in the following terms: “Frequently, the so-called humanitarian interference is done under the pretext of promoting democracy, thus provoking intra-state instability. For Western countries, unilateral actions towards other states carried out with disregard for the opinion of their legitimate governments and not authorized by the UN [United Nations] have already become the norm.”

Around the same time, General Alexander Levin, one of the commanders of the Russian military base in Tajikistan, highlighted the beneficial nature of the humanitarian operation there, saying, “The joint actions by the Russian base, units of the Defense Ministry and other security structures of Tajikistan are becoming a guarantor of peace and stability in the region.” This pair of statements highlights the Russian trope that Russian interventions promote stability in the world, while interventions by Western countries, especially by the United States, sow chaos.

Russia as a Proponent of Multipolarity in the World

Russian officials often describe the current world order as being unfairly dominated by a single power—specifically, the United States. In response, they promote the idea that the international community should welcome multiple arbiters, including and especially Russia and China. In the meantime, they highlight how most of the world’s problems are caused by the United States trying to resist the natural development of a polycentric world order. In late May 2019, Lavrov noted, “As we can see, security problems have been piling up in the Asia Pacific region and the world at large because Western countries are trying to stall or even reverse the objective formation of a polycentric world order.” Also that month, Vladimir Putin called for the establishment of an efficient security system that would be equal for all states, arguing that only through a collective response can radical extremist ideas be defeated.

Russian officials generally argue that the U.S. effort to maintain its unilateral dominance is a fruitless battle, and one that the United States will eventually lose. For example, in April 2019, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu argued that “[o]ur Western colleagues cannot accept the fact that the era of the unipolar world order is nearing an inevitable end so they are trying to protract this natural process.” These statements highlight the key idea of this narrative: that multipolarity is inevitable, and that efforts by Western states to resist it are both futile and counterproductive.

Promotion of International Structures in Which Russia Plays a Leading Role

This narrative refers to Russian leaders’ tendency to promote the involvement in international negotiations of organizational entities in which Russia has a dominant or equal voice as compared with Western powers. Such organizations include, most prominently, the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations Security Council. Conversely, Russian leaders frequently criticize structures in which their country is less empowered, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Council of Europe.

During the study period, Russian officials frequently argued that international crises could only be solved through the UN. This was particularly noticeable during the peak of the effort by the Venezuelan opposition to replace Nicolás Maduro with Juan Guaidó. Sergey Lavrov stated, “We with our Venezuelan partners share the opinion that any use of force in circumvention of the [UN] Security Council is fraught with disastrous consequences for modern international security as a whole.” Similarly, Vyacheslav Volodin argued that the Kosovo conflict can only be solved under the auspices of the UN: “A solution to the Kosovo problem can definitely only be sought via dialogue based on decisions made in the UN. Primarily, UN Security Council Resolution 1244.”

Russian officials also sought to use other international organizations, especially the OSCE. The OSCE was used to promote Russian interests in Ukraine, as highlighted in the following statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry: “Regardless of this fact, Russia will utilize its right to monitor the elections within an international mission in another OSCE member state, in this case in Ukraine. Our steps are based on the mutual obligations of all OSCE members to provide reciprocal, and unimpeded access by observers to one another’s elections. This measure needs to ensure that electoral processes are transparent and democratic.” These statements show that Russian officials prefer to promote their country’s interests through international organizations in which Russia plays a prominent role, while avoiding or denigrating organizations from which Russia is excluded (such as NATO).

Frequency Analysis

As shown in Table 1, the frequency with which these narratives were used by Russian officials during the period of analysis can be divided into three groups. The most frequently used included outside intervention in sovereign affairs, whataboutism, the promotion of international structures in which Russia plays a leading role, and Russophobia. A second set of narratives was used somewhat less frequently, including references to Russia’s near abroad, Russia’s focus on multipolarity versus Western unilateralism, and Russia’s role as a promoter of stability as compared with the Western tendency toward destabilizing interventions. The least frequently used narratives included references to Soviet-era allies, the importance of Russia’s Eurasian identity, and Russia’s role as a bastion of traditional values.

Table 1. “Frequency of Narratives Used by Russian Officials”

In terms of trends over time, most of the narratives were relatively evenly spread out over the entire ten-month period of observation. In particular, Russophobia, whataboutism, and references to the near abroad occurred at a fairly constant rate throughout the period. Figure 1 shows that some narratives have noticeable peaks and valleys over time, especially sovereign affairs and the promotion of international structures. The February peak in the sovereign affairs narrative is related to the peak of the crisis in Venezuela and concurrent Russian fears of a U.S. military intervention there. However, the smaller April peak in that narrative and the February peak in the promotion of international structures both include mentions of a wide variety of topics. For the former, these include discussion of Western intervention in Libya and Venezuela and discussion related to Brexit and cyberattacks. For the latter, Russian officials refer to a wide variety of crises that they say should all be dealt with either in the UN Security Council or the OSCE, including Ukraine, Syria, Macedonia, Kosovo, and the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Figure 1. “Trends in Key Narratives”

Conclusion

Although Russian official foreign policy narratives are designed to twist reality in ways that promote and justify foreign policy decisions to both domestic and foreign audiences, one common thread tying these narratives together is that all of them have an element of truth at their core. These narratives all connect with prevalent perceptions of the world and of the role of Russia and the United States in it. By starting with a core element of truth, Russian officials are able to create narratives that resonate with the dominant frames through which their audiences view the world.

Thus, they tend to highlight Russophobia and traditional values to domestic audiences. They also highlight the tendency of the United States to intervene in other countries and connect this tendency to increased instability in regions such as the Middle East in order to create the narrative of the United States as a destabilizing actor in world affairs. Whataboutism is used with both domestic and international audiences to highlight instances in which Western actors fall short of their stated principles, making the argument that Western leaders have no standing to criticize Russian actions. The end result is a relatively coherent picture of the world as a chaotic place and of Russia as a stabilizing agent within it.

A Note on Sources: Materials were collected through a variety of sources, including Opensource.gov, the Eastview database of Russian newspapers, and direct access to the TASS news agency and the websites of major Russian and Western newspapers. The bulk of the materials came from newswire reports, such as TASS in Russian and Interfax in English. Russian-language sources also included all major central newspapers. English-language sources also included Western English-language newspapers and media sites of record, such as the New York Times and the BBC. All materials were hand-coded by one of the two team members. Our analysis assumes that statements in Russian-language sources are aimed primarily at a domestic audience, while statements in English-language sources are aimed primarily at an international audience. Links are provided to sources that are available on the internet. Citations to all sources may be found on the Marshall Center’s version of this article.

Length of video : 139'
You may manually download this video in WMV (1.3Gb) format

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

End of October, EDA’s Cyber Defence Research and Technology (R&T) Ad Hoc Working Group (AHWG) organised its 10th meeting in Madrid, combined with a research workshop on cyber defence technologies innovation management.

The aim of the Cyber R&T AHWG was to analyse emerging new cyber defence technologies with a twofold objective: firstly to get feedback from participants as regards the development of future technology roadmaps; and secondly to review the updated Cyber Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and ensure it is complete. The EDA Cyber R&T AHWG is composed of cyber defence research experts and cyber specialists coming from participating Member States, industry and academia. Their task is to develop and update the cyber defence SRA within EDA’s Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA) framework. Since its establishment in 2016, the Cyber R&T AHWG has promoted EU collaborative research projects on cyber defence including work on emerging technologies with cyber implications. During its mandate, the working group has provided expertise for two ongoing EDA Cat B projects notably on “Cyber Situation Awareness Packages” and on “Enhanced Malware detection”. The Cyber Technology Landscaping Study - commissioned by EDA in 2018 and awarded to ISDEFE, AIT and CEIS – analyses the implementation aspects of the SRA and provides additional inputs which complement the findings on the state-of-the-art technology and related cyber threats.

At the second workshop devoted to innovation, which is part of the OSRA value chain and toolbox, participants discussed cross-cutting cyber defence aspects related to land, maritime, air and space domains as well as modelling and simulation in order to develop new ideas that have the potential to increase cyber defence effectiveness and efficiency. One of the objectives here was to identify potential new projects to be launched in a longer capability perspective, up to 2028. 

Both events took place in Madrid at INDRA and ISDEFE premises respectively.   
 

Background

In November 2018, the European Council adopted an updated version of the EU cyber defence policy framework (CDPF) which calls for considering cyber defence issues in the calls of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research and in the topics called for in the European Defence Fund.

Cyber R&T’s primary focus is to reduce risks when addressing future military capabilities. Researchers in this field are encouraged to explore new avenues because of its novelty and the likelihood of getting quick applications. The military is taking steps towards a better understanding of the implication of recognising cyberspace as an operational domain. Therefore, mature solutions shall always count on well-structured research, development and testing  prior to fielding.

Cyber R&T is one important work strand of the Capability Development Priority “Enabling capabilities for cyber responsive operations”. The OSRA - which provides a necessary link between R&T efforts and the military tasks and long-term capability needs of the Capability Development Plan (CDP) -  identified a number of Research and Technology areas, the so-called Technology Building Blocks (TBBs), in which a cooperative approach at the European level would bring an added-value to support the development of defence capabilities. The Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) on Cyber Defence developed within the relevant EDA Ad Hoc Working Group in compliance with OSRA requirements provides informed prioritisation on cyber-related technologies necessary for the military, while at the same time identifying opportunities for dual-use efforts and investments - be it in national, multinational or EU-funded contexts. 
 

More information:

• Cyber defence (EDA factsheet)