Book chapter - Foreign Interferences in the EU Political System: The Pursuit of Equilibrium Against an Elusive Threat
Description
Thibault BESNIER and Marie KETTERLIN. Foreign interferences in the EU political system : the pursuit of equilibrium against an elusive threat. In 'The Law and Governance of the EU Public Ethics System: an Institutional Perspective', edited by Alberto Alemanno, 365-392. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025.
Foreign Interferences are a growing threat for the European Union. They have triggered several scandals and crises for the Union, with recently the Qatargate and Russiagate scandals even putting in question EU Institutions’ ethics—both in terms of their capacity to resist malign foreign influence and in the ethics of the policy response it adopted. If it initially reacted to it by using tools such as strategic communications, the European Commission is not shying away anymore from proposing a regulation on Foreign Agents influencing EU Institutions. As the threat is becoming more acute and touches the heart of the EU, the EU policy response is changing, it increasingly uses hard law instruments. In this contribution, we question the determinants of the EU’s policy response to Foreign Interferences by analysing three cases, which are instances of foreign interference: Disinformation, Cyber threats and Malign Foreign Influence. By comparing the three cases, it will explain the mechanisms determining the Union’s response to Foreign Interferences by analysing interviews but also Institutions’ documents discussing foreign interferences. Building upon this framework, this chapter will conclude with recommendations for policymakers.
Foreign Interferences are a growing threat for the European Union. They have triggered several scandals and crises for the Union, with recently the Qatargate and Russiagate scandals even putting in question EU Institutions’ ethics—both in terms of their capacity to resist malign foreign influence and in the ethics of the policy response it adopted. If it initially reacted to it by using tools such as strategic communications, the European Commission is not shying away anymore from proposing a regulation on Foreign Agents influencing EU Institutions. As the threat is becoming more acute and touches the heart of the EU, the EU policy response is changing, it increasingly uses hard law instruments. In this contribution, we question the determinants of the EU’s policy response to Foreign Interferences by analysing three cases, which are instances of foreign interference: Disinformation, Cyber threats and Malign Foreign Influence. By comparing the three cases, it will explain the mechanisms determining the Union’s response to Foreign Interferences by analysing interviews but also Institutions’ documents discussing foreign interferences. Building upon this framework, this chapter will conclude with recommendations for policymakers.