Šimon Pinkas / 11 May 2021

The EU and its member states are currently a subject of influence-related activities of foreign powers, most often conducted by two authoritarian governments, China and Russia. Their effort to affect the internal political, economic and social affairs of EU countries has been described in several studies and articles. The question is, how should the EU countries react to this influence? 

This text strives to offer its reader a perspective of the policymakers themselves on the issue, which is why PSSI conducted two interviews with Czech Members of the European Parliament, Ms. Markéta Gregorová and Mr. Alexandr Vondra. With both of them having different generational as well as political backgrounds, their combined opinions offer a unique outlook on the nature of the authoritarian influence, its motivation and the appropriate countermeasures that should be taken against it. 

PSSI Perspective #10 was conceived in the framework of Authoritarian Shadows in the European Union project, which aims to measure the extent of authoritarian influence in the institutions and member states of the EU.