On Wednesday 28th March the Committee on European Union policies of the Italian Senate, which I have to honor to chair, examined a proposal for a directive of the European Commission to enhance transparency of “lobbying” activities performed by entities within the EU or on behalf of a third country entities.
It is a fundamental issue that needs to be tackled urgently through the adoption of measures in accordance with existing laws and EU directives. All illegal activities carried out for political purposes to strategically influence and even destabilize the decision-making process of our democracies must be prevented through all appropriate measures.
The news that broke over the last recent days of extensive cyber attacks perpetrated by Chinese entities against many parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), alongside the complaints publicly filed by the governments of the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand against Chinese diplomatic representatives, show the kind of threat the Western democracies are facing.
Sen. Giulio Terzi