Changes from resolution motion to resolution motion joint

Added30. Underlines that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has exposed the massive extent of foreign manipulation of information in the EU and its immediate neighbourhood, namely the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries; calls for the EU and its neighbouring countries to increase their cooperation in the fight against disinformation, hybrid threats and cyber security;

Removed20. Calls on the Secretariat of the EU Transparency Register to ban any entities with direct or indirect relations with the Government of Russia, pursuant to the Council decision of 3 June 2022 concerning restrictive measures;

Added31. Calls for the European Union to be vigilant with regard to attempts by any third country, including Russia, to unduly influence its democratic processes; warns the Russian Federation that hybrid disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks and influence operations already constitute serious attacks on European democracy and any physical action on European soil would constitute a dramatic escalation; calls on the Member States to expose and investigate Russian attempts to sabotage critical infrastructure; stresses the need to strengthen safeguards to protect election infrastructure, which is particularly vulnerable to physical attacks and cyberattacks before and during elections;

Removed21. Calls for the Commission to improve the quality of the Defence of Democracy package, specifically the proposal of 12 December 2023 for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing harmonised requirements in the internal market on transparency of interest representation carried out on behalf of third countries and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (COM(2023)0637), in order to effectively address internal threats of undue influence and to move away from a singular and ineffective focus on actors receiving foreign funding ;

Added32. Recalls that even in the case where the law limits the sources of political funding, Russian actors have found ways to circumvent them and offered support to their allies; recalls in particular the evidence of loans from foreign banks (such as in the case of the National Front party in France in 2016), purchase and commercial agreements (such as in the allegations reported by Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung on 17 May 2019 about the FPÖ party and by Buzzfeed and L’Espresso on 10 July 2019 about Lega per Salvini Premier in Italy), and facilitation of financial activities (as reported by the British press in relation to the Leave.eu campaign);

Removed22. Believes that free and fair elections are at the heart of the democratic process and therefore urges the EU institutions and the Member States to take decisive action to ensure that solely the will of the people serves as the basis for the authority of government, without foreign interference by malign actors, with a particular focus on the preparations for the European elections of 6 to 9 June 2024; calls for the Member States and the EU institutions to implement resilience strategies for elections and underlines the need to strengthen permanent monitoring efforts and enhance their implementation well ahead of elections, referendums and other important political processes across Europe;

Added33. Condemns the fact that foreign interference campaigns are often directed against specific minorities and vulnerable groups and notes that the targeting of those minorities serves the larger purpose of undermining the appeal of democratic and equal societies;

Removed23. Underlines the key role of investigative journalism in revealing the attempts at foreign interference and covert activities; reiterates its call for the EU institutions and the Member States to ensure sufficient and sustainable funding for investigative journalism;

Added34. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Removed24. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.