State of the Union: Joana de Deus Pereira Responds to the Proposed Emergency Security Protocol

Comment by Joana de Deus Pereira

STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

[The proposals] mark a genuine attempt to close the gap between the pace of hybrid attacks, and Europe's traditionally consensus-driven response.

There are five moments in this speech that deserve particular attention. On security, the proposed Emergency Security Protocol, effectively Europe's own Article 4, and the mooted European Security Council mark a genuine attempt to close the gap between the pace of hybrid attacks, from the Leipzig incident to drone incursions over Denmark, Lithuania and Poland, and Europe's traditionally consensus-driven response. Continued support for Ukraine, through the Freya missile-defence project, Patriot deliveries and a shift towards enforcing existing sanctions, not simply adding new ones, signals that Brussels sees this winter as decisive, not just another point on a long timeline.

Beyond the battlefield, three further announcements extend the same logic of sovereignty into new domains. Inviting Canada to become the EU's first associate member is a fresh and genuinely bold diplomatic instrument, treating alliance-building as an active strategic choice. The EU Kids Act, restricting social media access for under-15s and reversing the burden of proof of harm onto platforms, applies the same assertiveness to the digital environment shaping the next generation. And the commitment to convene frontier AI labs on pacing self-improving models shows a similar ambition, Europe wants to shape global technology governance itself, not only manage its consequences after the fact.

I believe these five moments show a Union trying to author its own terms, across security, partnerships and technology alike. Apart from the content itself, what is most revealing is the speech's pacing, a steady alternation between policy blocks and human stories, deliberately designed to make abstract EU initiatives feel personally consequential, not simply bureaucratic.

Dr Joana de Deus Pereira, Senior Research Fellow, Terrorism and Conflict

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and National Security

EU Foreign and Security Policy

Hybrid and State Threats

Terrorism and Conflict

Dr Joana de Deus Pereira

Senior Research Fellow

乔安娜·德·德乌斯·佩雷拉评论

国情咨文

[这些提议]标志着人们真正尝试缩小混合攻击的速度与欧洲传统上以共识为导向的应对措施之间的差距。

这篇演讲中有五个要点值得特别关注。在安全方面，拟议的紧急安全议定书（实际上是欧洲版的《里斯本条约》第四条）以及正在筹备的欧洲安全理事会，标志着欧洲正真诚地尝试缩小混合攻击（从莱比锡事件到无人机入侵丹麦、立陶宛和波兰）的发生速度与欧洲传统上以共识为导向的应对措施之间的差距。通过弗雷亚导弹防御项目、交付爱国者导弹系统以及转向执行现有制裁（而非仅仅增加新的制裁）来持续支持乌克兰，表明布鲁塞尔将今年冬天视为关键时期，而不仅仅是漫长时间线上的一个节点。

在战场之外，另外三项公告将同样的“主权”逻辑延伸到了新的领域。邀请加拿大成为欧盟首个准成员国，是一项新颖且真正大胆的外交举措，将联盟建设视为一项积极的战略选择。欧盟《儿童法案》限制15岁以下儿童使用社交媒体，并将举证责任从社交媒体平台转移到儿童平台，这同样体现了欧盟对塑造下一代的数字环境的坚定立场。此外，承诺召集前沿人工智能实验室，共同探讨如何推进自我改进模型的发展，也展现了类似的雄心壮志：欧洲希望参与塑造全球技术治理，而不仅仅是在事后应对其后果。

我认为这五个瞬间展现了欧盟在安全、伙伴关系和技术等各个领域试图自主制定规则的努力。除了内容本身，最能说明问题的是演讲的节奏，政策段落和人物故事交替出现，这种精心设计的叙事方式旨在让抽象的欧盟倡议与个人息息相关，而不仅仅是官僚主义的产物。

Joana de Deus Pereira 博士，恐怖主义与冲突高级研究员

人工智能与国家安全

欧盟外交与安全政策

混合威胁和国家威胁

恐怖主义与冲突

乔安娜·德·德乌斯·佩雷拉博士

高级研究员