Is the EU’s Democracy Defence Package Enough to Counter Disinformation and Cyber Threats?

New measures aim to protect elections and transparency, but critics say Europe’s response to external influence and digital disinformation falls short

21 November 2024

Philipp Fritz

Marcin Król Fellow

Ahead of the June European elections, European authorities warned that disinformation campaigns, not cyberattacks, posed the greatest risk – a warning that remains crucial as Europe approaches its 2025 elections.

The EU has rolled out a ‘Defence of Democracy’ package designed to counter foreign influence. With measures focused on transparency and election integrity, the initiative targets disinformation, cyber threats and political interference from nations like Russia and China. But are these steps enough to tackle the scale of the threat?

The biggest threat to democratic integrity during 2025’s slate of elections across Europe will not come from direct cyberattacks on electoral systems. Instead, the EU Agency for Cyber Security (ENISA) warns that targeted disinformation campaigns pose the most significant danger.

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Philipp Fritz

Marcin Król Fellow

Philipp Fritz is a Marcin Król Fellow 2024 at Visegrad Insight. He studied political science and cultural studies at the University of Bremen and the JU in Krakow. He began his journalistic career at the Berliner Zeitung and has also written articles for Die Zeit and Tageszeitung, and in Poland for Gazeta Wyborcza. Since 2018, he has been a foreign correspondent for WELT and WELT AM SONNTAG, responsible for East Central Europe. His reports and analyses also appear in Switzerland and in the French and Polish press. Philipp is an expert on rule of law issues and international politics and security policy in Europe. Read Philipp’s articles

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