Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (INGE)

This special committee investigated the different ways in which foreign agents infringe and subvert democratic processes in the EU and its member states, and in particular what digital means are used to these purposes.

The Committee focused on:

  • 1. 
    an analysis of how rules for the financing of politcal campaigns and poltical parties are breached or circumvented through funding from third country actors, and whether national legislation in member states is sufficiently strict with respect to these rules
  • 2. 
    identifying measures that can be taken to increase transparancy with regard to how political content is placed and shared (through algorithms) on social media platforms, and to combat trolls, fake accounts and inciting violence or hatred
  • 3. 
    proposing measures to combat hybrid and cyber threats on an EU-level, specifically those targetting governmental actors, the military, the political sphere and journalism
  • 4. 
    an analysis to what degree the EU as a whole depends on foreign parties on maintaining and further developing critical (online) infrastructures with regard to facilitating democratic processses
  • 5. 
    proposing measures to actively counter information campaigns and strategic communication of malign third countries and their use of EU-based organisaties to do so in particular

The Committee focued on both govermental actors as well as organisations and especially corperations that are active in this arena.

This Committee had a twelve-month mandate. Parliament can decide to extend the mandate. The Committee will had 33 members.