MEPs have backed proposals to strengthen the EU’s response to foreign interference and disinformation, including a new EU centre to co-ordinate action across member states.
The European Parliament adopted a report from its special committee on the European Democracy Shield by 420 votes to 220, with 26 abstentions, it announced on Tuesday.
The committee was set up in December 2024 to assess hostile activities targeting the EU, including foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) — a term used for efforts to shape public debate using deceptive tactics — as well as hybrid attacks and co-ordinated disinformation campaigns.
MEPs argued the EU’s current approach is fragmented and that individual member states cannot effectively counter the threats on their own,.
The report supports creating an “EU centre for democratic resilience”, announced earlier by the European Commission, as an independent “centre of excellence” to combat FIMI and disinformation and to co-ordinate national actions.
MEPs said the body should consolidate existing EU-level work rather than duplicate it, and should have a clear mandate, budget and capacity to act, with participation mandatory for all member states and parliamentary oversight ensured.
Russia named as primary external threat
Russia was described as the primary threat to Europe’s democratic integrity, with the report citing hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure including cyberattacks, physical sabotage, arson, espionage and signal jamming, the Parliament said.
Similar activity was also linked to Belarus, China, Iran and North Korea.
MEPs called for expanded sanctions targeting those who enable disinformation and those who help to circumvent existing sanctions, and condemned Russia’s politically motivated “blacklisting” of EU officials, journalists and MEPs.
On digital threats, MEPs called for tougher enforcement of existing EU rules such as the Digital Services Act and the AI Act, rather than new legislation.
Online platforms should do more to combat bot-driven election interference and protect democratic debate.
The report also proposes classifying electoral infrastructure as critical, introducing a “know your donor” principle for cryptocurrency-based political donations, and measures against malicious deepfakes and fraudulent adverts.
It also calls for increased protection for female candidates.
Media freedom measures include long-term funding commitments for media freedom and investigative journalism, safeguards against illegal spyware, and support for media and AI literacy.
Rapporteur Tomas Tobé, a Swedish MEP from the European People’s Party, said the report was “not about regulating political opinions” but about protecting democracy from foreign influence operations, adding: “Russian bots are not free speech. Foreign interference is not free speech. And manipulating our elections is certainly not free speech.”
