On November 22, during the “Eastern Poland Policy 2024” conference, a panel titled “Friends of Russia in the EU: From Far Right to Far Left” took place. It was held as part of the “Protecting European Values” project, co-funded by the European Commission. The College of Eastern Europe (KEW) organized it together with the International Republican Institute (IRI).
The debate was moderated by Veronika Vichova, an analyst at the Center for an Informed Society and the panel was composed of speakers that are KEW’s fellows and experts engaged in the project „Protecting European Values”. The discussion was opened by Prof. Dimitri Sotiropoulos from the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), and Kristina Tsabala, a Bulgarian analyst from the Centre for the Study of Democracy. They discussed political environments in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece susceptible to replicating the Kremlin’s narratives underling historically deeply rooted pro-Russian sympathies in many sectors of their societies. They conducted an in-depth analysis of a considerable influence of pro-Russian politicians in their countries (particularly in Bulgaria) on political life and continued support for Ukraine in its war efforts. However, at the same time, both of them pointed out pro-Western positions of the governments in above-mentioned countries.
Following this, Andrei Macsut from the Romanian Academy of Sciences and Dimitri Teperik, an Estonian analyst from the National Centre of Defence & Security Awareness, examined the impact of Russian disinformation on political processes in Romania and the Baltic states. Andrei Macsut noted that while there are parties advocating for greater understanding of Kremlin policies, these groups do not play a decisive role in the Romanian politics. Dimitri Teperik, speaking about far-right groups, described them as mostly critical of Russia, but stressed some overlapping of anti-Western ideas between them and the Kremlin. He recalled also a importance of internal Russian factor related to a huge share of Russian speaking communities in the region.
The debate was concluded by Pola Cebulak, a lecturer at Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam who presented the EU’s reaction to the Russian interference in the domestic affairs of the member states analysing a new legislation concerning this issue. She emphasized that Russia’s influence should be countered but she warned that new laws might be misused by certain political forces in the EU in order to undermine the liberal democratic order.
This was the 19th edition of the Eastern Poland Policy Conference, which brings together experts, scholars, journalists, politicians, NGO activists, and diplomats from Poland, Europe, and around the world. The conference focuses on debating the most pressing issues in Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, as well as internal developments within the EU and NATO, placing them in broader global and continental contexts. It always emphasizes the significance of these topics for Polish Eastern policy.
