The Foreign Affairs Committee has decided to draw up a report discussing the attacks against democratic elections in Western countries in recent years, and the defence capabilities of the countries that have countered the attacks.

Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, who is the rapporteur, said that attempts at intervention in elections were multi-layered and increasingly arrogant, and the weapons used therefor ranged from information operations to cyber-attacks.

“In Estonia, too, in light of the upcoming elections, we must be ready to spot potential interventions, and the experiences of other countries can be a great support,” she said. “The aim of external attacks is clear in most cases – to discredit the democratic form of government, to create divisions, and to create instability and distrust in society and tensions within and between Western countries.”

However, it is first necessary to detect an intervention and to identify it. For that purpose, the committee will draw up a report that will discuss the earlier cases and situations of intervention in the elections in Western countries, and describe the methods, techniques and channels used for that.

The report will aim to give an overview of the solutions for countering interventions in elections, the legislative basis necessary for that, and the role and functions of various state authorities.

In connection with drawing up the report, the committee is planning to organise several parliamentary hearings and meetings with representatives of other countries. In the first half of this week, the Deputy Chairman of the committee Keit Pentus-Rosimannus participated in the round table with the US senators Mark Warner, Marco Rubio and Amy Klobuchar in Washington that focused on the practices used in various countries against the Kremlin interventions in elections.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu is planning to complete the report by the end of this year.

Riigikogu Press Service
Epp-Mare Kukemelk
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