Debate: The relations of the Russian government and diplomatic network with parties of extremist, populist, anti-European and certain other European political parties in the context of the war
Date: WEDNESDAY, 6 JULY 2022
Speaker: Věra Jourová
Language: EN

Democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are the foundations on which the European Union is built. Democracy is a core European value which needs to be nurtured and protected. The Russian unjustified invasion of Ukraine is a war against democracy. Russia has tried for years to destabilise Ukraine and take away from its people the aspiration for democracy. They failed and have now moved to the next stage with such brutal invasion. This highlights once more the need for prompt actions to strengthen the resilience of our democracies and address vulnerabilities. Russian right—wing extremist groups have been known to have links to European groups, and there have been reports of Russia funding and training right—wing extremists, individuals and groups in EU Member States. The Russian invasion of Ukraine offered violent right—wing extremist movements an opportunity to create new rhetorical connections with pre—existing divisive narratives and to exploit them with the aim of boosting anti—European sentiments. The war has also had an impact on the extreme left and anarchist—wing infosphere. Its narratives attract the attention of militants and focus on crucial issues related to the nature and logic of the war. The Commission is working with the Member States who have the key competences in these measures, to tackle the threat of violent extremism in the EU. We are doing this, for instance, via Europol, which is in close contact with authorities and partner agencies in the Member States, to continuously exchange information and gather intelligence to assess terrorist and right—wing extremist threats. While the funding and governance of the national parties remains a competence of the EU Member States, the EU has the competence to regulate European political parties. One way of exercising influence on the European parties is via funding. As you recall, the Commission has recently put forward a recast proposal of the Regulation on European political parties and foundations. Our proposal contains strong safeguards against foreign interference – for example, very strict rules on donations, which would be totally forbidden if coming from outside the EU. This being said, in the current political context, the Commission considers that it is important to send a strong political message of support and encouragement to those political parties outside the EU, which are often in the opposition to tough regimes and fight for democracy and human rights under very difficult circumstances. For them, belonging to a European political party and receiving its support internationally is important. Finally, defending our democracies includes defending the foundations on which it stands, such as media freedom, open discourse and informed decisions by voters. And we are acting on all fronts. Foreign information, manipulation and interference, including disinformation, takes many shapes, shades and dimensions. It is much more than the battle of narratives. As we speak, Russia is engaged in systematic and coordinated global information, manipulation and disinformation campaigns that, for example, blame the Western sanctions for the worsening global food security situation. We cannot stand still on this. We need to continue our strong cooperation with all our multilateral and bilateral partners to ensure that the following message reaches global audiences: the sole responsibility lies with Putin’s regime. The High Representative with his service, the European External Action Service, in close cooperation with the Commission and the Member States, is also developing the EU’s toolbox to tackle foreign information, manipulation and interference, including to impose costs on the perpetrators. This covers the entire spectrum, from situational awareness to resilience—building, regulation and diplomatic responses, as well as responses from the Common Foreign and Security Policy. In addition, as part of the latest EU sanctions package, we are suspending the broadcasting activities in the EU of additional three Russian state—owned outlets. The Russian Government continues to use such outlets to manipulate information and promote disinformation about the invasion of Ukraine with the aim of destabilising Russia’s neighbouring countries, the EU and its Member States. Let me make a point here. Russia does not pick one or another side of the opinion spectrum to support; it stands on both sides, as it is division, and chaos and instability it seeks to nurture in our societies and in the world. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to agree to that aim and actively seek a civilised dialogue without giving into extremist rhetoric and tactics. Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to the debate.