The European Parliament’s special committee on the European Democracy Shield has backed proposals for stronger EU tools to counter foreign interference, disinformation and hybrid threats, including a new European centre for democratic resilience.
The committee adopted its findings and recommendations on Tuesday by 20 votes in favour, nine against and two abstentions, the Parliament announced.
Russia was described as the primary external threat to Europe’s democratic integrity, with Belarus, China, Iran and North Korea also cited as active.
The report lists a range of hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure — including cyberattacks, physical sabotage, arson, espionage and signal jamming — and calls for stronger capacity at relevant EU agencies to act against such threats.
It also recommends expanded sanctions targeting enablers of Russian disinformation and non-EU entities, particularly Chinese ones, accused of helping to circumvent sanctions and facilitate Russian operations.
Plans for a new EU resilience centre and tougher platform duties
MEPs supported setting up an EU centre for democratic resilience, saying it should be created through a binding legal act with operational parameters, a dedicated budget and governance involving all member states, the European Parliament said.
The proposals also call for faster responses by online platforms to combat electoral interference, particularly bot-driven efforts, and for clearer distinctions between synthetic content and authentic material.
Measures proposed to protect election integrity include action against malicious deepfakes and fraudulent adverts, and classifying electoral infrastructure as critical.
The report also calls for long-term funding commitments on media freedom and effective enforcement of the prohibition of illegal spyware.
Rapporteur Tomas Tobé said foreign information manipulation, disinformation and hybrid interference were becoming “increasingly sophisticated and coordinated”, and that Russia remained the primary threat to Europe’s democratic integrity.
The full Parliament is due to vote on the report at its September plenary session.
