The president of the European Parliament ‘people, not bots, should decide the future of their country’ referring to Russian sabotage of Romania’s elections.
In an interview with media outlet, G4Media, Mrs. Metsola said the European Union was committed to taking further steps to stop Russian interference in the elections.
Her comments came weeks after Romanian declassified intelligence reports revealed a ‘complex and subtle’ Russian interference upended Romania’s presidential election to favor an anti-Western candidate. Calin Georgescu, the leading far-right outsider candidate, was massively promoted on social media platform TikTok through coordinated accounts and paid promotion and improbably won the first round.
The involvement is similar to the Russian attack on Ukraine prior to the February 2022 invasion. Millions of euros was paid to TikTok influencers “to manipulate and divide Romanians,” the report said.
Romania’s Constitutional Court canceled the elections two days before the December 8 runoff over the interference, a move that drew praise for its decisiveness but also criticism.
Mrs. Metsola however said in the Jan. 1 interview that she was confident that „Romania’s new elections will take place soon.”
The European Parliament has already created a special committee aimed at strengthening the resistance of EU countries to possible Russian interference in future electoral processes she told G4Media,
“The European Parliament has always been a relentless defender of free and fair elections,” she said.
“We deplore any attempt at interference by third parties trying to influence elections in any Member State, as we have seen recently from Russia. People, not bots, hould decide on the future of their country,” she told G4media.
“We need to protect our democracies by working together to better counter such attacks. In this regard, the European Parliament h“We deplore any attempt at interference by third parties trying to influence elections in any Member State, as we have seen recently from Russia. People, not bots, should decide on the future of their country,” she told G4media.as just set up a special committee on the European Shield for Democracy, aimed at strengthening our resilience. With the DSA Act and the new rules on political advertising, we have taken additional steps to protect our citizens,” Metsola said.
Romania will hold elections on March 23 with a runoff on April 6 if no candidate wins a majority in the first round.
She referred to an investigation opened by the European Commission against TikTok connected to the interference.
“Regarding the Romanian elections, the European Commission has already initiated formal proceedings against TikTok regarding electoral risks under the Digital Services Act. The European Parliament will ensure that these allegations are fully investigated. If it turns out to be true, there must be consequences,” she said.
“As for the new elections, we are confident that they can take place soon, with a safe, fair and transparent process, ensuring that the rights of Romanian voters are protected. And I welcome the fact that the Romanian authorities took the issue very seriously and acted quickly,” she added.
For years, Russia meticulously prepared election interference, Romanian intelligence reports reveal
