Meeting in plenary session, MEPs adopted by a large majority (469 votes in favour, 143 against and 47 abstentions), on Thursday 10 October, a resolution aimed at combating foreign interference and disinformation in both national and European elections.
Among its objectives, the resolution aims to raise public awareness of Russia's disinformation campaigns, which, according to Parliament, "constitutes the main source of disinformation in Europe".
"Disinformation poisons hearts and minds. We can no longer deny the fact that our institutions and societies are targeted by the Kremlin's hostile propaganda, which is part of a broader strategy", said Anna Elżbieta Fotyga (ECR, Poland), rapporteur of the text. She added: "Our answer depends on resilient societies, transparent media and encouraging pluralism, while avoiding censorship”.
In order to strengthen the fight against Russian propaganda, MEPs call in particular for the expansion of the European Union's East StratCom Task Force and for it to become a separate structure within the European External Action Service (EEAS).
The resolution also calls for social networking companies, messaging services and search engine providers to be regulated by law, so that these companies are held accountable if they do not quickly eliminate systemic fake news.
In addition, the text calls on Member States to support the countries associated with the EU and the Western Balkans in order to ensure a strong defence of their electoral processes against malicious propaganda activities. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)