EU's 'Defence of Democracy' debate on combatting foreign influence

<p>This week, we debate the EU's latest attempt to combat foreign influence with its forthcoming "Defence of Democracy package," which some in Brussels claim could result in unintended consequences.</p><p>POLITICO's Suzanne Lynch speaks to the European Commission’s special adviser on foreign interference, Ivana Karásková, a Czech academic and expert on Chinese influence. She provides insight into the degree of foreign influence in the European Union. She also explains the rationale behind a specific piece of this package, which is causing concern, particularly among NGOs: potential rules that would subject civil society organizations to report if they receive funding from third-country donors.</p><p>Then we're joined by Sarah Wheaton, POLITICO's chief policy correspondent and author of our <a href="https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/politico-eu-influence/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EU Influence newsletter</a>, and Nicholas Aiossa, deputy director and head of policy and advocacy at Transparency International EU. They dig into the concerns that this package will have unintended consequences for European democracy — and discuss what better tools the Commission could consider with an eye on better transparency in EU advocacy and lobbying.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>