2023 EUCOS SYMPOSIUM | Aleksander Olech on NATO, Hybrid Warfare, and Europe’s Energy Challenge

Center for West European Studies & EU Jean Monnet Center

As the European Union as well as member states create swiftly changing policies affecting clean energy initiatives, their energy decisions show significant variability. Recent events emphasize both the need for and the challenges to establishing a unified approach to securing supply for EU states and for improving energy independence within the EU. As emerging technology revolutionizes energy markets, it has never been more important for European countries to synchronize their standards on protecting critical energy infrastructure, including electric grids, Smart Grids, gas pipeline sensors and wind and solar technologies. This symposium will showcase cutting-edge research on where the European Union is headed on energy security and what the U.S. and the EU can learn from each other. -- Aleksander Olech, PhD - Deputy Director of the Department of Africa and the Middle East in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. Previously, visiting lecturer at the Baltic Defense College. Graduate of the European Academy of Diplomacy and War Studies University. He has conducted research at several international institutions, among others, the Université Jean Moulin III in Lyon, the Institute of International Relations in Prague, the Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management in Vienna, the NATO Energy Security Center of Excellence in Vilnius, the NATO Center of Excellence Defense Against Terrorism in Ankara and the NATO StratCom in Riga. Scholarship holder of the OSCE & UNODA Peace and Security Programme, the NATO 2030 Global Fellowship, and the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. His main research interests include terrorism, energy security, international cooperation for security in Eastern Europe and the role of NATO and the EU with regard to hybrid threats.