This is a joint press release issued by the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, and the European External Action Service. The EU has successfully concluded the EU Integrated Resolve 2024, a joint exercise co-led by the Council of the EU, the European Commission, as well as the European External Action Service. Over the past 6 months, the EU has planned and tested its overall preparedness and capacity to manage complex crises. This year’s edition of the exercise has significantly strengthened the EU’s ability to respond to potential hybrid crises, both inside and outside the EU. Starting on 30 September, the exercise unfolded in two subsequent phases. The first phase focused on the planning of a Common Security and Defence Policy military operation and coordination during a consular crisis. The second consisted of a series of simulated multilevel scenarios of a hybrid nature, including the evacuation of EU citizens from a conflict zone. EU institutions, bodies and agencies, 24 EU member states, Canada, the US and Norway, actively engaged in the exercise, testing their decision-making and operational capabilities and boosting preparedness and resilience. EU-level mechanisms supported the response to the complex hybrid crisis. This involved a debate at the level of EU member states' ambassadors and the activation of the Council’s Integrated Political Crisis Response arrangements, as well as the Commission’s crisis management instruments, e.g. the Emergency Response Coordination Centre, as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. EU Integrated Resolve 2024 has also served to deepen the cooperation between the EU and NATO at staff level as foreseen in the 2016 Warsaw EU-NATO Joint Declaration. The exercise tested coordination of parallel crisis management between both organisations. This wide-scale exercise provided a timely opportunity to enhance the EU’s preparedness in line with the EU Strategic Compass, which outlines shared threat assessments and crisis response strategies. By simulating the response to potential hybrid threats and campaigns, including through disinformation, foreign information manipulation and interference in a specific situation, the EU is better prepared to ensure a swift, unified, and effective crisis management, response and communication in the event of a future challenge. | 
