Germany proposes tougher EU response to hybrid threats from Russia

The foreign ministry in Berlin is looking to increase the consequences of such attacks by adopting new sanctions against Russia’s so-called shadow fleet — oil and gas tankers helping Moscow earn billions of dollars from illicit fossil fuel sales by surreptitious means — and by limiting the time of accreditation and freedom of movement for holders of Russian diplomatic passports, according to the document seen by POLITICO.

In order to help prevent more hybrid attacks in future, the foreign ministry wants to ramp up cooperation with private companies, such as cable providers, while conducting regular stress tests for critical infrastructure, the document reads.

Germany is hoping the EU can establish a more proactive communications strategy to make it clear that Russia is to blame for certain incidents. This could include measures to declassify intelligence information to make the point.

In the past governments have found it difficult to quickly and definitively attribute attacks to Moscow.