Russia wearing down resistance to hybrid attacks: Polish MEP
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
21.02.2017 07:49
Russian information warfare is wearing down resistance to hybrid attacks, Anna Fotyga, a Polish member of the European Parliament, has said during a conference in Lithuania.
MEPs Anna Fotyga of Poland and Petras Auštrevičius of Lithuania at a conference in the Lithuanian parliament. Photo: Flickr.com/Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas.
“Russia is using sophisticated methods of information warfare against western societies, making them less resistant to hybrid attacks,” Fotyga, a member of Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, said at the conference on hybrid threats to security in Central and Eastern Europe.
According to the MEP, Western countries were more aware of Russian threats some 10 years ago compared to now.
“Currently the situation is worsening … This shows Russia's ability to influence Western democracies and even represent itself in the European Parliament,” she said.
She added that a report “on EU strategic communication to counteract propaganda against it by third parties”, adopted in November, underwent longer negotiations in the European Parliament than any other report.
According to Fotyga, this shows that officials from EU member states were unaware of the imminence of a threat.
Of equal importance during her trip to Vilnius was the issue of the Polish minority in Lithuania, Fotyga said.
Poles are the largest ethnic minority in the country, accounting for about 7 percent of its 2.8 million residents.
“There is no doubt that I want, at long last, Poles in Lithuania to be treated as completely equal citizens of this country,” Fotyga said.
She added that there was still “much to do” to guarantee the rights of Poles in Lithuania. (vb/pk)