H.E. Mr Josip Buljević, Ambassador of Croatia, visited Hybrid CoE today to hand over the Letter of Notification to Director Teija Tiilikainen, officially making Croatia the 29th Participating State of the Centre of Excellence.
“With hybrid threat activities against democratic states being amplified during the pandemic, there is an increasing need for joint efforts to counter the phenomenon with a more proactive approach. Hybrid CoE welcomes Croatia to its ever-enlarging community of EU and NATO members firmly engaged in strengthening the resilience of their joint democratic model,” Teija Tiilikainen said.
“Joining the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats is a very important step for strengthening the resilience of our country to this kind of challenge. Hybrid threats are complex and as allies we need to work together to counter them effectively. We are confident that our participation in Hybrid CoE will substantially enhance our capacities for countering Hybrid Threats. This is of paramount importance to Croatia as we are continuously confronted with hybrid activities in our country as well as in our neighbourhood. We are therefore grateful to be part of the Centre of Excellence in Helsinki, which is one of the crucial institutions for developing effective means to counter hybrid threats and strengthen allied and European security,” said Ambassador Buljević.
Besides Croatia, the Participating States of the Centre of Excellence include Austria, Canada, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Centre cooperates closely with the EU and NATO.