By Kontur and AFP | 2024-04-19

BRUSSELS -- European Union (EU) leaders on April 17 weighed a response to suspicions of Russian meddling ahead of June elections in the bloc, with several states pushing for sanctions targeting "malign activities" by Moscow.

The European Commission has issued escalating warnings about Russia sowing disinformation and misinformation ahead of the polls, and seeking to weaken Western support for Ukraine as it fights off Moscow's invasion.

The issue reared its head dramatically in recent weeks after Czech intelligence uncovered evidence that EU lawmakers took money to spread Kremlin propaganda through a Prague-based news site -- allegations now under investigation in Belgium, which hosts the EU's top institutions.

The website, Voice of Europe, is known for publishing stories repeating Russian messaging and giving airtime to guests who do so.

European Council President Charles Michel, speaking after day one of a summit in Brussels, said EU leaders had addressed the threat of Russian interference -- and agreed to join forces to counter it.

"We need to be much more vigilant; we need to cooperate much more" and show Russia that "we are not naive," he told reporters.

"We need to bring together the tools we have, the European institutions on the one hand, but also the national authorities on the other," he said.

In their draft summit conclusions, EU leaders alluded to the threat, vowing to "closely monitor and contain" risks, including "foreign information manipulation and interference in electoral processes."

Countering Russian 'malign activities'

In a joint letter sent April 16 to EU leaders and heads of state, the prime ministers of Belgium and the Czech Republic, Alexander De Croo and Petr Fiala, appealed to fellow leaders to consider new sanctions to counter Russian "malign activities."

"We simply cannot allow Russia to get away with such a blatant attack on our democratic institutions and principles," they wrote.

"It is clear that the Russian regime is trying to influence the upcoming European elections and to strengthen the pro-Russian narrative in the new European Parliament."

De Croo and Fiala said the Belgian intelligence service confirmed the Russian interference.

They appealed for the European Public Prosecutor's Office and the European Anti-Fraud Office to be able to prosecute such interference.

Belgium's federal prosecutor's office is probing the allegations on the grounds that the country hosts the EU's institutions.

De Croo also said the Belgian EU presidency and the European Parliament would set up a joint task force to track developments and liaise with national authorities.

"We have to be very clear that attempts like this are not acceptable, and that we have to do everything to defend our democracy," De Croo said as he arrived for the two-day summit in Brussels.

Russian 'cyber sabotage'

Meanwhile, a leading cybersecurity firm warned that a cyber group with links to Russian military intelligence is set to become a significant global threat after playing an increasing critical role in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Google-owned Mandiant said in a report April 17 that it is seeing nefarious operations by the group referred to as "Sandworm" in places around the world considered political, military or economic hotspots for Russian interests.

"We have observed the group sustain access and espionage operations across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Latin America," Mandiant researchers said in the report.

"With a record number of people participating in national elections in 2024, Sandworm's history of attempting to interfere in democratic processes further elevates the severity of the threat the group may pose in the near-term."

A US grand jury five years ago indicted a dozen Russian military intelligence officers on charges stemming from their alleged interference with the 2016 US presidential election.

Sandworm has repeatedly targeted Western electoral systems and institutions, including those in current and prospective NATO member countries, according to Mandiant.

Sandworm has "attempted to interfere with democratic processes in select countries by leaking politically sensitive information and deploying malware to access election systems and misreport election data," the report said.

The group established itself as Russia's preeminent cyber sabotage unit and has been relied on by the country's military in its war on Ukraine, according to the researchers.

Sponsored by Russian military intelligence, Sandworm "is actively engaged in the full spectrum of espionage, attack and influence operations," Mandiant said.

"We assess with high confidence that [Sandworm] is seen by the Kremlin as a flexible instrument of power capable of servicing Russia's wide ranging national interests and ambitions, including efforts to undermine democratic processes globally," researchers concluded.

The group's activities such as trying to influence elections or retaliate against international sporting bodies in athlete doping controversies suggest "no limit to the nationalistic impulses" that may drive Sandworm's agenda, according to the report.