Europarliament office in Greece holds event on threats to democracy in EU through disinformation

The European Parliament Office in Greece hosted a hybrid press briefing on “Defending Democracy in the EU from Foreign Interference” on Tuesday.

Participating in the meeting were Europarliament Deputy and Chairman of the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation, Raphael Glücksmann (Socialists, France); European Parliament Spokesperson’s Unit head Delphine Colard; Strategic Communications at European External Action Service (EAAS) head Lutz Güllner; and European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) chief Evangelos Ouzounis. The briefing was moderated by Constantine Tsoutsoplides, director of the Europarliament office based at Syntagma Square in Athens.

The event was based on the European Parliament’s adoption of the report on foreign attempts to influence democratic processes in the EU. The report was approved before the war in Ukraine, but the developing events served as examples of how disinfomation campaigns are being adopted for military purposes.

Speakers defined disinformation as the targeted and coordinated campaign originating from one state against another state, with the ultimate purpose of undermining European institutions and democracy.

Europe made the mistake long term of believing it had no enemies and that democracy was not under threat, but developments in Ukraine changed that, Glücksmann said, encapsulating the briefing’s focus.

Source: amna.gr