Crosetto denounces Russian interference, but in the European Parliament, FdI votes against setting up a dedicated centre. Cavadegna (FdI): “This worries us”

On the very same day that Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, speaking on SkyTg 24, issued a warning to Europe, saying that “we Western countries do not do much about hybrid warfare; we simply endure it”, yesterday in Strasbourg, the European Parliament was divided precisely over the report on the conclusions of the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield (EUDs) designed to defend against foreign interference, particularly from Russia. The text was approved with 420 votes in favour, 220 against and 26 abstentions. However, it did not go unnoticed that among those voting against were Fratelli d’Italia and the Lega. Unlike Forza Italia, which voted alongside the Democratic Party – and thus the Group of the European Socialists – Renew Europe, of which Azione is a member, and the Greens, the Melo-led and Lega MEPs decided, together with their respective groups – namely the Conservatives and the Patriots – to vote against the European Democracy Shield, aligning themselves with the Five Star Movement and Roberto Vannacci. Sinistra Italiana, on the other hand, abstained. 

The decision by the two government allies clashes, as we mentioned earlier, with the statements issued a few hours later by the Defence Minister: “In recent months, there has been a massive increase in drone incursions and cyber-attacks. On the one hand, it is a way of testing NATO’s defences; on the other, it is a way of raising tensions and, in some ways, sending negative messages to the public. Let us remember that Russia’s war is not merely a physical war, but above all a propaganda war in Western countries – a war of disinformation.” On the subject of hybrid warfare, the minister said that “neither we nor the Western countries are doing much about it; we are simply enduring it.” And it is precisely to counter this that the European Parliament yesterday called for the creation of an EU Centre for Democratic Resilience, which is intended to act as an independent ‘centre of excellence’ to counter manipulation and foreign interference in the information sector and to coordinate national actions by bringing together under a single entity the measures already underway at EU level, equipping it with a vision, a mandate and, above all, a budget and the capacity to act. However, as we wrote earlier, FdI and the Lega voted against it. Why? MEP Stefano Cavedagna spoke to Il Foglio on behalf of the Lega: “Italy and other nations are well aware of the growing presence of hybrid attacks. And as Minister Crosetto said, we are facing hundreds of attacks every day – cyber attacks, for example – and we are doing so in an attempt to stop disinformation. There is, in fact, an escalation by actors outside Europe, and individual countries have been working on this for some time. On this issue, we have demonstrated our willingness to support efforts by also increasing defence resources. However, we are opposed to the establishment of a ‘Centre for Democratic Resilience’, which has little to do with drones and which could become yet another tool in the hands of certain parties within the EU to judge and interfere in the elections of member states. Just think of how many times in the EU they have tried to claim that we in FdI were unelectable. This is unacceptable. And there will be elections in Spain, France and Italy – all countries where the conservative right is on the rise.”

Even the opposition did not vote as a united bloc, given that the PD, M5S and SI came out in favour, against and in favour of abstention respectively. However, it is not new that the broad coalition has struggled to reach a consensus on foreign policy. Speaking today to Il Sole 24 Ore, Lega secretary Matteo Salvini, in justifying his party’s ‘No’ vote, asked: ‘Who decides what constitutes interference and what does not? I will not leave it up to some bureaucrat to decide what can and cannot be said. We must be wary of any kind of interference. ‘We voted alongside the Prime Minister’s party; clearly, there is a shared doubt about the effectiveness of this European approach.’ However, this apparent contradiction with Crosetto’s words also prompted a reaction from Azione leader Carlo Calenda, who wrote on social media: “Guido Crosetto has rightly complained about the lack of effective mechanisms against the hybrid and cognitive warfare that Russia has waged against us.” He went on to announce that “Azione put forward a proposal for a ‘democratic shield’ over a year ago, to which we received no response. But the interesting thing is that FdI voted against the very same proposal presented at European level, alongside the Lega, Vannacci and the 5S. We are struggling to make sense of all this.”