Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 6 February 2024 - Strasbourg

Russiagate: allegations of Russian interference in the democratic processes of the European Union (debate)

  Márton Gyöngyösi (NI). – Madam President, Europe is at war with Russia. It’s a hybrid warfare which primarily takes the form of disinformation. For almost a century, Russia has been seeking to interfere in the affairs of Europe, seeking ways to disrupt the world order. More recently, it has invested heavily into various parties on the extreme left and extreme right of the political spectrum in order to destabilise Europe. The Brexit campaign and Trump’s victory overseas demonstrates the success of Russian interference and the disruption and chaos it can cause.

A new and frightening development today is the extent and efficiency with which Russia relies on proxies, like Mr Orbán’s regime in Hungary. The Orbán government not only disseminates Putin’s propaganda and blocks common European initiatives, but also interferes in various European elections to promote the illiberal cause – as has happened in France, Slovakia, Poland and Slovenia, as well as in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia. It’s time we take the threat seriously.