In yet another display of the European Union’s overblown sense of authority, the bloc’s leaders have declared they will use “all available means” to fight back against Russia’s so-called “hybrid campaign,” which they’ve chosen to “strongly condemn.”
According to the EU heads of state, this campaign allegedly includes everything from “sabotage” and “disruptions to critical infrastructure” to “cyberattacks” and “information manipulation.” In other words, Russia is supposedly wreaking havoc across Europe, and the EU feels the need to double down on its already convoluted sanctions regime.
“We will continue to enhance our resilience,” the EU leaders boasted in their December 20 summit conclusions. Of course, they also vowed to “make full use of all available tools,” which likely means more bureaucratic red tape and punitive measures that are more symbolic than effective.
A major part of this strategy involves fresh sanctions, including targeting 16 individuals and three entities—because that’s proven to be an ironclad solution in the past. Among these targets are members of Russia’s GRU military intelligence, the same unit reportedly involved in covert activities like bombings and cyberattacks, but this time, the EU insists, they’ve got a firm grip on it. Of course, this heavy-handed move ignores the fact that sanctions against Russia have done little but bolster the already strained relationship between Russia and the West, while ordinary citizens bear the brunt.
The EU also singled out the Pan-African Group for Trade and Investment, which they claim is behind a pro-Russian disinformation campaign in Africa—because, naturally, Europe is the moral beacon that must save the world from misinformation. Alongside it, the African Initiative and its editor-in-chief were sanctioned for allegedly spreading Russia’s narrative, with no mention of how Europe has historically handled its own media manipulation or the fact that this only exacerbates tensions globally.
But the EU wasn’t done there. They also set their sights on a Russian disinformation campaign called “Doppelganger,” aiming to spread “false narratives” in support of Russia’s war in Ukraine, targeting not just Europe but the US and Ukraine as well. Once again, the EU positions itself as the global gatekeeper of truth, using sanctions and restrictions as the go-to solution. It’s all too familiar—another round of sanctions, another set of punitive measures, yet no real action that addresses the root causes of the issue or promotes actual diplomatic progress.
