The EU and the exposure to disinformation
Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said in Brussels that foreign interference with the election process is not a threat just for Romania, but also for European democracies and values.
Leyla Cheamil, 19.12.2024, 14:00
Attending the EU-Western Balkans summit and the European Council in Brussels, the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said Romania was confronted with an enormous problem related to foreign interference with the election process, but that it coped well. The country’s reaction was immediate, strong and fair, said Iohannis, who expressed confidence in Romania’s capacity to remain stable, solid and a reliable partner.
We recall that the first round of the presidential elections in Romania held on 24th November was annulled, as it was discovered that the process was not fair due to illegal practices supported by Russia on social media, especially TikTok.
According to Iohannis, foreign interference with the election process is not a threat just for Romania, but also for European democracies and values. All countries are exposed to this risk, he said, adding that instruments and mechanisms for defence against such attacks must be immediately developed. “Romania reacted 100% fair and legal, because it’s not everywhere in Europe that constitutional courts have the right to intervene in the case of elections. In Romania, however, it is laid down in the Constitution that the Constitutional Court can validate, and therefore also invalidate the elections if it sees grave irregularities. And this time, there were grave irregularities,” president Iohannis emphasised.
During talks with the new president of the European Council, António Costa, Iohannis discussed the importance of resilience and of a strategic direction to be able to manage all challenges. He said efforts are needed to combat Russia’s “malign” interference, in order to “reduce exposure to such perfidious attacks”. President Iohannis said on Wednesday that integrated coordination is needed, as well as finding instruments and solutions, because this is what people are expecting from the European Union and their national governments.
The European Commission has already begun an investigation into the Chinese social media platform TikTok following the campaign for the presidential elections in Romania. Even though TikTok says the platform was protected during 150 elections at global level and that it is constantly eliminating content that violates rules, the representatives of the European Commission say there are credible suspicions over the violation of the European Digital Services Act and the lack of reaction to systemic risks connected to the integrity of the elections. On Monday, the European Union said it adopted the first sanctions in response to “hybrid actions” on its territory against Russian agents accused of “destabilising” actions in the European Union. The EU is also accusing Moscow of cyber attacks and disinformation, especially during the elections in the European Union.
