Source: European Parliament
The European Democracy Shield Committee’s mission to Moldova (26-28 May 2025) examined the current challenges of hybrid warfare and Moldova’s institutional response to foreign interference.
With Russian interference operations estimated at over 1% of the country’s GDP, this timely mission, in the wake of the parliamentary elections in October looked into the topics of electoral corruption, disinformation, instrumentalisation of regional divisions and energy-related pressures, amongst other hybrid threats and realities. Through meetings with the parliamentary leadership, government officials, security services and civil society organizations, amongst a wide variety of interlocutors, the delegation assessed how Moldova is strengthening its democratic resilience through legislative reforms, specialized institutions, including the National Cybersecurity Agency and the Centre for Strategic Communication, and the experience of countering FIMI activities in real time during the constitutional referendum and presidential elections of 2024. The mission’s findings offered relevant insights for the work of the EUDS committee.