The European Parliament called on the EU on Wednesday 13 March to do more to combat misinformation and hostile propaganda by adopting – by 489 votes to 148 with 30 abstentions – the report by Anna Elżbieta Fotyga (ECR, Poland) on the EEAS follow-up provided two years after Parliament’s report on the EU's strategic communication regarding the countering of propaganda directed against it by third parties', including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea (see EUROPE 11674/5).
The somewhat marathon report by Ms Fotyga includes many recommendations. For the European Parliament, the next European Council and the future High Representative must make the fight against misinformation and hostile propaganda a priority and “sufficient resources and means must be devoted to it in order to guarantee the objective nature of communications and the dissemination of information”.
MEPs believe that Member States must assess the situation on their territory and make appropriate investments to counter strategic communication by hostile third parties, as well as improving citizens' ability to detect misinformation. According to them, resilience and the ability to respond to threats in real time must be strengthened, in addition to preventive and proactive measures being developed.
Parliament also proposes to consider the development of a legal framework, both at EU and international level, to “address hybrid threats, notably cyber warfare and information warfare, which would allow for a strong EU response”, it should also include sanctions against those responsible for orchestrating and leading these campaigns.
Additionally, It calls for measures to protect elections from “hostile propaganda”, including sharing data between States on possible foreign or domestic interference in electoral processes and the sharing of best practices on how to combat such interference. The European Parliament added that electoral laws should take into account potential threats from misinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, cybercrimes and violations of freedom of expression during the vote, and should be amended accordingly.
According to MEPs, the three StratComs must also be strengthened, in particular by the provision of sufficient financial and human resources, “with a view to significantly increasing their potential, efficiency, professionalism, institutional continuity and quality of work, as well as protecting them from political interference from authorities and countries that support Russian misinformation”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)