EU to step up response to disinformation

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions stepping up the bloc's engagement and ability to respond to foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).

That’s according to the Council’s press service, Ukrinform reports.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its war propaganda have underlined the urgency of tackling foreign information manipulation and interference targeting not only Russian, but global audiences,” the statement says.

“The conclusions underline how foreign information manipulation and interference is often used as part of broader hybrid campaigns and aims at misleading, deceiving and destabilising democratic societies, by creating and exploiting cultural and societal frictions in a strategic and coordinated manner. These interference techniques carried out by Russia have been strengthened during its unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine,” the Council believes.

The conclusions demonstrate the EU’s commitment to strengthening its engagement to tackle this threat at all levels, notably in multilateral formats with and within the United Nations and other international and regional organizations. The Council has invited all relevant parties to step up work towards the development of international principles on disinformation and FIMI.

The Council has called on the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the European Commission “to present options, in full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms, for well-defined measures that could be taken against FIMI actors when this is necessary to protect EU public order and security.”