Friday

29th Mar 2024

Sweden raises alarm on election meddling

  • Stockholm: far-right Sweden Democrats gaining support in run-up to September vote (Photo: Beat Küng)

Sweden aims to create a new government agency to protect its upcoming election from Russian and other propaganda.

"It is now less than eight months left to the finest day in Sweden's democratic life, our election day … [and] only Swedish voters will determine the outcome," Swedish prime minister Stefan Loefven said at a security conference in Stockholm on Sunday (14 January).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"To the one or those who are considering trying to influence … our country: stay away!", he said.

Loefven said the main threat came from Russia, but he added that "we cannot rule out that there may be others" who would try to influence the Swedish vote on 9 September.

He also indicated that he had specific information on efforts being made to meddle in the electoral process.

"We will not hesitate to expose those who try to do something, because we know that operations are underway at the moment", Loefven said.

He said the new Swedish agency would be created "immediately" and would be responsible for bolstering the "psychological defence" of the Swedish public by "identifying, analysing, and responding" to "external influence" campaigns.

The counter-propaganda agency was part of wider measures to safeguard the election, the prime minister noted.

These included increased funding for Swedish intelligence and cyber-defence services.

Loefven said he would hold a series of meetings with Swedish political party leaders in spring "on how the parties can increase protection and resilience … against the risks of influence during the election process".

He also said he would hold "in-depth discussions" with Swedish media and with social media firms to "increase awareness of foreign influence".

The Swedish vote will pit Loefven's centre-left Social Democratic Party against the centre-right Moderate Party and the far-right Sweden Democrats party, which came third in the last election in 2014 and which has continued to gain support.

Russia has a track record of using cyber attacks and propaganda campaigns to help populist candidates in recent elections in the US, France, and Germany.

There is increasing evidence that it meddled in the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, the Brexit referendum in 2016, and the Catalan independence vote last year.

The US Senate, in a report last week, also warned that: "Italy could be a target for electoral interference by the Kremlin" when Italians go to the polls on 4 March.

The US report noted that Nordic states were "a favourite target of the Kremlin's propaganda machine".

It added that: "when it comes to exhibiting strong immunity against Russian malign influence operations, the Nordic states are also exemplary".

The report said this was due to two factors - the Nordic countries' "extraordinary educational systems that emphasise critical thinking skills … and extremely low levels of corruption".

Far-right US activists with no apparent links to Russia also got involved in efforts to sway the French vote.

But speaking of Russia's modus operandi, Loefven said on Sunday: "We have seen it in several different countries recently."

"There have been violations of political parties' internal computer systems. There has been financial support for extremist groups on the right side and examples of … systematic 'fake news'," he said.

Military context

Loefven noted that the Russian propaganda threat comes amid its aggressive military posturing in Europe.

"Russian action in Ukraine challenges the European security system in a way that we have not seen since it was established 25 years ago," he said, referring to Russia's invasion and partition of its neighbour four years ago.

He said "Russia is a major and important neighbour in the east that we and the EU must be in contact with" and that both sides ought to "think in the long-term about [their] relationship".

But he added that "this task is not facilitated by more and more reports of Russian disinformation and influence operations".

He also said that his government would continue to support EU economic sanctions against Russia "for as long as the reasons for their introduction [Russia's military aggression in Ukraine] remain".

Macron vows law against fake news

French president Emmanuel Macron has promised legislation to block the spread of fake news, as part of a broader effort to protect liberal democracies from Russian propaganda.

Burned cars fuel Swedish election debate

Sweden's first big party leader TV debate ahead of September elections was marked by the burning of dozen of cars in cities across the south-west of the country.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us