France has urged the European Union to implement a new regime of sanctions to counter Russian disinformation and influence operations targeting elections worldwide.

According to reports by Bloomberg, France’s proposal, supported by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Poland, seeks to empower the EU to strengthen sanctions against individuals and entities involved in Russia-sponsored destabilising activities globally.

The document highlights the escalating destabilising activities attributed to Russian-affiliated entities across Europe, as the Russian regime employs various hybrid tools to undermine democracy, stability, and the rule of law.

With the upcoming elections for the European Parliament in June, the EU has prioritised combating the rising tide of Russian disinformation.

The G7 countries are also coordinating joint actions to tackle information manipulation and interference, with a particular focus on this year’s elections.

EU officials are particularly concerned about the June elections continent-wide, as they observe a surge in disinformation content circulating on social media platforms.

Under France’s leadership, the proposed EU sanctions regime aims to target successors of the Russian Wagner Group, which has been implicated in previous disinformation operations, as well as those collaborating with or providing material, technical, or financial support to them.

The new sanctions framework will focus on individuals responsible for threatening the stability, security, or sovereignty of EU member states or third countries by undermining elections, the rule of law, promoting acts of violence, or engaging in information manipulation and interference.

Similar to other EU sanctions regimes, penalties will include travel bans and asset freezes.

Recently, France and Germany uncovered influence networks targeting their respective countries.

In February, France’s foreign influence countermeasure agency, VIGINUM, identified a coordinated disinformation campaign in France, Germany, and Poland linked to the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the EU elections.

This month, Belgium initiated a criminal investigation into potential Russian interference in elections after the Czech government revealed a Russian network attempting to influence policy, including payments to European politicians.

In the UK, officials have stepped up efforts to prevent disinformation threats ahead of future elections, focusing on deepfakes and the use of artificial intelligence.

Click here for more News & Current Affairs at EU Today

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________