A top European People’s Party lawmaker is calling for a new EU agency to fight foreign disinformation, as part of efforts to ramp up defence against Russian interference in elections.
The rapporteur for the European Parliament’s newly created special committee on the European Democracy Shield, Swedish MEP Tomas Tobé, wants the bloc to launch an independent body to address a surge in foreign information manipulation, known as FIMI, in a new working report.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen previously vowed to set up new capabilities and structures “to counter foreign information manipulation and interference online”.
However, in the Commission’s 2025 work programme, an initiative for a so-called European Democracy Shield – aimed at fending off hybrid threats, particularly from Russian actors – is mentioned, but it is unclear whether the EU executive will support the creation of a new body.
Under the blueprint, due later this year, the Commission is eyeing a non-legislative communication that will frame its plans for the future.
Another agency
The EPP lawmaker wants an independent structure that will “gradually become operational in its functionality” to work alongside the European External Action Service’s designated internal unit on FIMI.
Tobé wants the new structure to act as an information hub to support EU countries and institutions. The lawmaker pitches should also function as a “European centre for excellence for fighting FIMI”, the report said.
The future structure should be able to “act rapidly and decisively” against ongoing foreign threats, according to the report.
Vignium, France’s technical agency that monitors foreign digital interference, and the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency can serve as examples for how such an EU agency could be set up.
The report, however, does not specify the headquarters for the agency or how it would be funded.
Elections and Kremlin threats
The EU has been fending off attacks from Russian-backed hackers for years, especially in the run up to national elections.
Back in 2024, the Council imposed sanctions against Kremlin-supported media outlets and imposed “restrictive” measures on entities related to Russian FIMI threats.
European authorities have recorded 42 attempts at FIMI ahead of last June’s European elections. For example, Romania annulled its December elections due to Russian disinformation, and Poland recently warned that such interference remains the top threat to next week’s presidential vote.
The so-called Doppelgänger operation also targeted German elections in February, using fake news, AI-generated images, and fake accounts to sway voters.
The special committee’s working document is expected to inform the Commission’s work on the European Democracy Shield, with a final report also due next year.
(jp)
