EU Council

The Atlantic Council argues Europe needs a new strategy to counter Russian grey zone aggression, meaning hostile actions below the threshold of open war such as sabotage, disinformation and cyberattacks. The analysis, published on its Ukraine Alert blog, warns that current responses are inadequate and calls for a coordinated European approach to these destabilising tactics amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

European Union institutions are debating the creation of a payment system made in Europe, an effort to reduce dependence on US-owned card networks such as Visa and Mastercard. The Council of the EU has highlighted the question publicly, drawing significant attention as the EU moves forward with the digital euro project and weighs strategic autonomy in financial infrastructure.

The Atlantic Council argues that Europe lacks an adequate response to Russia's grey zone tactics, such as sabotage, disinformation, cyberattacks and other deniable actions below the threshold of open war. The think tank calls for a new European strategy to deter and counter these operations, prompting debate over how NATO and EU members should coordinate their defenses against hybrid threats.