Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe today, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, warned that Europe faces two wars: Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; and an equally dangerous, less visible hybrid war involving disinformation, cyberattacks, and external interference in European democracies.
“These wars are not separate. They reinforce each other. Russia's military aggression and its hybrid operations pursue the same objective: to undermine, control, and divide Europe. One destroys cities, the other erodes trust. One uses missiles, the other uses money, narratives, and manipulation,” she highlighted.
The Council of Europe is a “line of defence”
The President underlined that the Council of Europe was born from the failure of European democracies to defend themselves in time, but that was based not only on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law as ideals, but on systems that must withstand pressure, manipulation and abuse.
She pointed out that “the Council of Europe was never meant to be a comfort zone, but a “line of defence”, while stressing that the organisation was created for moments like this: “Not when democracy is comfortable but when it is contested”. The current sixth-month presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers is acting with this responsibility in mind, she stated.
“If Ukraine falls, Russia will not stop at Moldova”
Referring to the “brutal and devastating” war against Ukraine targeting the destruction of cities, the energy infrastructure, and the civilian population, President Sandu said that it “demands not only our solidarity, but our responsibility”. “In Moldova, we know that we owe our peace to Ukraine´s resistance. We know that if Ukraine falls, Russia will not stop at Moldova. Ukraine´s fight is therefore about the security of Moldova, the region, and of Europe as a whole”, she added.
The President highlighted the vital role the Council of Europe has to play in ensuring accountability for Russia´s aggression, through various mechanisms.
Moldova at the frontline of Russia’s hybrid war
In the information war against democracies, Ms. Sandu noted that Moldova remains on the front line – facing major electoral interference, energy crises, information warfare, and cyber operations aimed at destabilising Moldovan democracy and steering it toward Russia’s influence.
“Among all the ways this hybrid war is waged, the most dangerous for the future of our democracies is information manipulation amplified by technology, opaque algorithms, and artificial intelligence. If left unchecked, those who control technology will increasingly control how people think”, she emphasised.
“I am proud to say that Moldova resisted in this two-year assault through a whole-of-society effort”, she stressed, while noting with regret that both Georgia and Armenia are facing similar challenges.
For this reason, she pointed out the need for a clear and comprehensive legal instrument on foreign information manipulation and interference, addressing election interference, media concentration and capture, organised crime, cybercrime, corruption, the malign use of artificial intelligence, and other technologies.
Elections are “the most vulnerable entry point for foreign manipulation”
The President underlined the serious risk of interference in elections: “I cannot emphasise elections enough. In democracies, they are the most vulnerable entry point for foreign manipulation, and the most decisive one.”
Answering questions from PACE members regarding the situation in the Transnistrian region, President Sandu said that the Moldovan authorities are fully committed to the peaceful resolution of the conflict and underlined the steps taken recently to promote economic reintegration, with 70% of exports from this region now going to EU countries. She emphasised that the illegal presence of Russian troops remains the greatest barrier to achieving full reintegration, reaffirming Moldova’s determination to overcome this challenge.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Moldova’s Presidency of the Council of Europe
Moldova and the Council of Europe
New Democratic Pact for Europe
President Maia Sandu discusses protecting young minds at Women@PACE
