EU and NATO continue coordination on cyber defence

The European Union and NATO held their third Structured Dialogue on Cyber on 6 November 2026. Announced by the European External Action Service (EEAS) on 10 November, the meeting continued efforts to coordinate the two organisations’ approaches to cybersecurity and cyber defence.

Discussions focused on cyber resilience and preparedness, responses to malicious cyber activities, support for partner countries, and the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for cybersecurity and defence. Participants also exchanged operational and policy experience and considered opportunities to strengthen cooperation.

The meeting reaffirmed the organisations’ commitment to improving shared situational awareness and strengthening their capacity to prevent, deter and respond to cyber threats. The next dialogue is scheduled for 2027.

Established in 2024, the structured dialogue provides an institutional channel for exchanges between the EU and NATO on cybersecurity and defence.

The first meeting, held on 4 October 2024, addressed coordination in detecting, deterring and defending against cyberattacks, critical infrastructure protection and cyber crisis management. It also included a scenario-based exercise to improve understanding of the organisations’ respective crisis-response arrangements.

The second meeting, held on 20 November 2025, continued discussions on cyber resilience, preparedness, mitigation and response, as well as the role of joint exercises in improving interoperability.

The two organisations have developed complementary approaches to cybersecurity. The EU draws on regulatory, diplomatic, economic and capacity-building instruments, including its Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox. NATO contributes military planning, collective defence arrangements and cyber defence capabilities. Their cooperation also includes participation in each other’s cybersecurity exercises and coordination of diplomatic statements condemning cyberattacks.

AI was among the topics discussed at the November 2026 meeting. The EEAS identified the misuse of AI models and the increasingly rapid discovery of software vulnerabilities as developments affecting the cyber threat landscape.