Croatia on Tuesday became the 19th member of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE), which admits only EU and NATO member states.

Joining Hybrid CoE “is a very important step in boosting our country’s resilience to such challenges,” said Croatian Ambassador to Finland Josip Buljevic, who visited the Hybrid CoE headquarters in Helsinki, Finland.

He delivered Croatia’s letter of intent to join to Hybrid CoE director Teija Tiilikainen, whereby Croatia became its 29th member state.

Hybrid threats are complex and as Allies we must work on effectively countering them. We are confident that Croatia’s membership will significantly enhance our capabilities to do so, Buljevic said, adding that Croatia was faced with hybrid activity at home and in the neighbourhood.

We are grateful to be part of the Hybrid CoE, one of the crucial institutions for the development of effective tools for countering hybrid threats and strengthening Allied and European security, he said.

Tiilikainen said that besides stronger hybrid threats against democracies during the pandemic, there was a stronger need for common effort to counter the phenomenon with a more proactive approach.

Hybrid CoE welcomes Croatia in the growing community of EU and NATO member states which are fighting strongly to strengthen the resilience of its common democratic model, she added.