The chairman of the European Parliament’s special committee on foreign interference, Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D, France), said on Tuesday 2 March that greater European political will was needed to combat this type of interference.
“The first step to be taken is a state of mind and that is to impose a cost on these attacks on our democracies”, he replied to EUROPE. “There is something that is missing and that will make everything else useless if it does not figure: it is political will. The first step is to send much stronger political messages to those responsible for the attacks. Russian hackers do not act without a Russian political agreement”, he insisted.
“The political players who decide on the attacks rightly believe that they will not pay the price. And as long as this price is not paid, the attacks will continue, regardless of our legislative discoveries towards building the resilience of our societies”, he added.
The aim of the special committee is in particular to “shape the tools, including legislation” to better protect the EU from foreign interference. At present, “the means we have to defend our democracies are very weak”, Mr Glucksmann regretted.
Sandra Kalniete (EPP, Latvia), rapporteur on the subject, hoped to be able to publish her working paper on the financing of political activities by foreign donors in mid-March. Then, around 10 May, she hopes to present a paper on online platforms. In June, she is expected to publish a paper on institutional and citizen resilience. At the start of the autumn, the MEP will focus on drafting the final report, which she hopes to see voted on in committee in December 2021 and in plenary session by March 2022 at the latest.
The previous day, before this special committee, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, had explained that he wanted to provide the EU with effective tools. “We are not making a standing start. There is the 2017 cyber diplomacy toolbox (see EUROPE 11811/27) to counter ill-intentioned activities in cyberspace”, he said, adding that it was necessary to build on the lessons of the past and develop this toolbox.
“We want to be better able to attribute responsibility for disinformation campaigns and follow through on the consequences”, he added. “How can people be punished for disinformation? Nothing is provided for in international law”, he asked. Mr Borrell considered that a system based on damages suffered and proportionality should be put in place.
But the High Representative acknowledged the limits of his mandate, explaining, for example, that he had no mandate to work on Chinese disinformation.
He also wanted a mandate on Russia, China, Turkey and the Islamic State Organisation, because, according to him, they are responsible for the new cyber attacks. “I want to widen the scope of our action, to face up to all those who attack us, for us to have the tools to punish them, to take retaliatory measures, we must refuse ‘as a matter of principle’ to countenance any impunity”, he requested. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)