The European Parliament decided by 548 votes to 83, with 56 abstentions, to set up a special committee on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation.

The special committee shall be vested with the following responsibilities:

- analyse investigations showing that crucial electoral rules have been breached or circumvented, in particular the existing provisions on the transparency of campaign financing;

- contribute to the ongoing debate on how to enhance the responsibility for countering foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union;

- assess national actions able to provide strict restrictions on the sources of political funding, since foreign actors have found legal and illegal ways to circumvent national legislations and have offered covert support to their allies by taking out loans with foreign banks, providing in-kind things of value, through purchase and commercial agreements, through shell companies, through non-profit organisations, through citizen straw donors, through emerging technologies offering anonymity, through online advertisements, through extremist online media outlets, and through the facilitation of financial activities;

- suggest coordinated action at EU level for tackling hybrid threats, including cyber-attacks on military and non-military targets, hack-and-leak operations targeting lawmakers, public officials, journalists, political parties and candidates, as well as cyber espionage;

- investigate on the EU’s dependence on foreign technologies in critical infrastructure supply chains, including internet infrastructure, inter alia, hardware, software, applications and services, as well as on the required actions to strengthen the capabilities for countering the strategic communication of hostile third parties and to exchange information and best practice in this area;

- counter information campaigns and strategic communication of malign third countries.

The special committee shall have 33 members. Its term of office shall be 12 months.