Foreign Interference in the European Elections

What is going on?

On June 6-9, millions of Europeans are voting. Citizens from the 27 member states of the European Union are heading to the polls to elect 720 members of the next European Parliament. Since the last election in 2019, several major events have reshaped the political landscape in Europe: the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and an energy crisis. In many ways, we live in times of uncertainty.

EU parties are winding up their campaigns, but they haven’t been the only ones seeking to influence our votes - autocrats have been running their own campaigns. Here are four examples of how Europe’s elections have been interfered with:

1. Buying influence and causing chaos: German far-right politicians linked to the Kremlin and Beijing

Only a couple of months out from the European Parliament elections, news broke about Russian meddling in European affairs. According to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, MEPs have been paid to spread Russian propaganda.

Just days later, the second candidate on the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland’s election list, Petr Bystron, was reported to have accepted €20,000 from the pro-Russian media network, Voice of Europe. Voice of Europe is operating out of Czech territory, and according to POLITICO, Czech officials possess an audio recording where Bystron accepts payment in exchange for services to Voice of Europe. Bystron’s party, AfD, is well-known for its anti-immigration, anti-EU policies, and its pro-Kremlin views.  

AfD’s lead candidate in the upcoming election, Maximilian Krah, has been accused of taking bribes from Moscow and Beijing for his work in the European Parliament. Furthermore, in April, a close employee of Krah was arrested, accused of spying for China. Both Krah and Bystron have denied all allegations.

2. Confusing the voters: Russian disinformation in Europe

On March 27, a fake video appeared online bearing the logo of the French radio station, Radio France Internationale. The video falsely claimed a tuberculosis epidemic was threatening France due to the admission of Ukrainian soldiers into French hospitals.

The video first appeared on Telegram, posted by a Russian media account, and was quickly disseminated by other Russian media outlets across various platforms. RFI reports that the same comments follow the video on different platforms.  

In addition to promoting anti-Ukraine sentiments, Russian disinformation campaigns have targeted the EU’s Green Deal. A widely circulated story in Romania, about Brussels introducing “carbon passports” was debunked as disinformation by fact-checking AFP journalists. Far-right Romanian politician, Gianina Serban, amplified the disinformation and encouraged Romanians to stand against the carbon passport by voting for “patriots and sovereignists” in the European elections.

3. Russian intel from European institutions: Latvian MEP accused of spying

In January, Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka was accused of being an agent of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). According to the Insider, she has been an asset of Russian intelligence from at least 2005-2017. Leaked emails between her and her two handlers reportedly describe her work as a member of the European Parliament and her efforts to foster pro-Kremlin sentiment in the Baltic region.

4. Aiming for the stars: Von der Leyen’s campaign hit by cyber attack

In May, just a month before the European elections, the campaign of Ursula von der Leyen, current President of the European Commission and EPP lead candidate, was targeted by a cyber-attack. A cyber-attack, carried out by bots, hit von der Leyen’s electoral website ursula2024.eu, attempting to disrupt her candidacy. On June 1, von der Leyen’s party, CDU, was hit by another serious cyber-attack, indicating a pattern of targeting the German center-right party leading up to the election.

The purpose of election interference

These examples all showcase the efforts made to impact our elections and to divide our societies from within. As President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit: “The point of this malign interference is not just what is being said or done in each individual case – it is about sowing division and fanning the flames of extremism”.

The above-mentioned examples are all concerning but are far from the only ones. All instances of foreign interference should be seen as attempts to weaken our commitment to causes, such as supporting Ukraine, to confuse the European voters, to erode trust in our institutions and elections, and to encourage the extreme corners of our societies.

Therefore, it is essential that democratic forces unite to preserve the integrity of our elections. The tech industry’s Tech Accord and the EU’s AI Act are steps in the right direction.  But voters must also be vigilant against interference to fully protect themselves before casting their vote.

Safeguard yourself by checking the sender of questionable information and verify through different sources, fact-check the information (such as Snopes.com), ‘debunk’ misleading information to family and friends, and stay alert of malign actors trying to polarize the debate and influence your vote.

Written by: Marcus Vorre, Junior Associate, Alliance of Democracies