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Countering disinformation
Since 2015, the European Union has set out and is actively implementing concrete measures to address disinformation, protect its democratic systems and public debates.
High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini has presented the third progress report on the implementation of the European Union Global Strategy, “The EU Global Strategy in Practice - Three years on, looking forward”, which will be discussed by the EU Foreign and Defence Ministers at the Foreign Affairs Council on 17 June 2019 in Luxembourg. The report looks at the progress achieved over the past three years, since the presentation of the Global Strategy in June 2016, in five priority areas - the security of the Union, state and social resilience to our east and south, an integrated approach to conflicts and crises, cooperative regional orders and global governance for the 21st century - and provides possible orientations for the way forward in the coming years.
This year's theme for the World Press Freedom Day is “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation”. The theme covers current challenges faced by media in elections, along with the media’s potential in supporting peace and reconciliation processes.
In recent years, the security environment has changed significantly. In addition to military challenges, the EU has seen the rise of hybrid threats on its borders. For example, cyber-attacks on government information systems or disinformation campaigns can undermine elections, aim at destabilising societies and cause serious damage. Against this background, the EU has taken action to boost its capacities as a security provider.
The European Council today welcomed the important work accomplished in countering disinformation in the past months, and called for further enhanced coordinated efforts to address its internal and external aspects.
The Action Plan against Disinformation is at the heart of the EU's strategy to protect May's European elections from disinformation and other attempts at foreign interference.
