Brussels, 18 February 2022
The seven-member delegation, led by Vladimír Bilčík (EPP, SK), will meet members of the National Security Council, officials at the White House, the Department of State and the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency, and think tank and civil society representatives.
They will explore how the EU and the US can cooperate to counter information manipulation and support democracy in the face of authoritarianism. They will discuss how electoral processes could be made secure by investing in critical infrastructure – a task also highlighted in the committee’s draft report.
With a focus on Ukraine, the MEPs will also discuss with their US interlocutors hybrid warfare, conspiracy theories, political violence, cyberattacks and manipulation on online platforms, and the foreign covert funding of political activities.
Members of the delegation
Vladimír Bilčík (EPP, SK), head of the delegation
Radosław Sikorski (EPP, PL)
Pierfrancesco Majorino (S&D, IT)
Morten Løkkegaard (Renew Europe, DK)
Viola von Cramon-Taubadel (Greens/EFA, DE)
Marco Dreosto (ID, IT)
Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR, PL)
“In the past decade, the EU and liberal democracies have come under continuous and intensifying external hybrid attacks and there is widespread disinformation. Authoritarian regimes and foreign state and non-state actors sow discord in democracies to weaken them and make themselves relatively stronger. For this reason, it is strategically important for democracies to stick together, to share experience and good practice, and to establish collective countermeasures. This task has been an integral part of the mandate of the Committee on Foreign Interference,” Vladimír Bilčik said ahead of the delegation’s departure to the United States.
Background
The Committee on Foreign Interference is charged with providing a long-term approach to addressing instances of foreign interference in the democratic institutions and processes of the EU and its member states. In its draft resolution, to be put in front of the full Parliament at its March plenary session, the Committee emphasizes the importance of cooperation among like-minded partners in dealing with foreign malicious interference.
The meetings in Washington, DC follow a visit to Taipei in November 2021 where MEPs particularly focused on countering interference from China. The committee has also held meetings with partners in Australia, Canada, Japan and all EU parliaments.