Several experts and authorities have estimated that when peace in Ukraine is reached, or the conflict is freezing, Russia’s threat to Finland and the Baltic countries will increase.
For example, in February, the Danish intelligence service warned that Russia could launch a new war in Europe within five years if Ukraine remains a frozen conflict.
Vice-President of the EU Commission Henna Virkkunen According to “Europe is already the subject of a massive attack in Russia.”
“Our critical infrastructure is destroyed, migrants are pushed to the outside, the GPS signal is disturbed, and we are constantly encountering a variety of disinformation and propaganda,” says the Vice-President of the EU’s technological sovereignty, safety and democracy.
According to Virkkunen, “influencing Russia is really massive, especially in many countries in Eastern European.”
In Romania, for example, in December, the country’s Constitutional Court decided to invalidate the first round of the presidential election due to Russian suspect election effects.
Virkkunen says that about 20 times more disinformation was seen in Romania compared to the European Parliament elections last year in the Union.
Collaboration with digital platforms
The Vice -President of the Commission assures us that the EU has a means to combat Russia’s influence, especially through the new digital service regulation, as it obliges digital platforms to collaborate on illegal content.
“In Romania, for example, all digital platforms were gathered with local authorities and NGOs and it was considered that platforms would not be abused or manipulated.”
According to Virkkunen, Tiktok hired 140 Romanian -speaking people to add platforms to eliminate illegal content.
“There was a lot of work in Romania to make no such doubts, as in December.”
According to Virkkunen, Russia’s election influence is even worse in countries that are not yet EU members, as in Moldova.
“They are the subject of really massive disinformation all the time,” Virkkunen says.
He says the EU is preparing to support Moldova in the September elections.
This will determine
According to Virkkunen, the most critical and crucial thing for Europe’s security is how to create peace in Ukraine and what it becomes.
“It will surely determine the future of Europe for decades to come,” he says.
When the US support to Ukraine has become Donald Trump As a result of rising power, many have wished Europe more to function.
“Of course, Europe also needs to take more responsibility for this,” says Virkkunen.
He considers the announcements of the EU Member States in recent weeks and months of new investments in defense and security.
“This is the type of change that is needed to support Ukraine.”
Virkkunen considers it to be the most important thing that other Europe is also preparing for the security of Finland’s security.
“It is very important that the countries are now investing in defense on a wide range.”
“The aim of the Commission is to encourage Member States to make more investment together,” says Virkkunen.
The safety of data centers
In Finland, there has been a recent debate on the Tiktok Data Center to be established in Kouvola and the possible safety risks associated with it.
Tiktok application is owned by a Chinese company ByteDance.
There are suspicions that the Chinese authorities have access to the data of European users.
Virkkunen recalls that in early May, the Ireland Data Protection Authority imposed a fine of EUR 530 million for breach of EU data protection regulations for TiktoK, when it turned out that some of the data of European users had been preserved on servers in China.
According to the Irish authority decision, Tiktok could not guarantee that the Chinese authorities would not have access to data.
The company has denied the allegations.
Good
Virkkunen says that in Europe has so far been “very open to foreign data center investments”, but now all investments and initiatives have to be evaluated from a safety perspective.
“That’s why it is always necessary to always evaluate this type of investment.”
In the autumn, the Commission is revamping cyber security legislation, which looks at the security risks of ICT infrastructure more broadly. Until now, the focus has been on 5G infra.
According to Virkkunen, critical parts of 5G networks should not have high-risk journalists. Chinese companies are listed as such companies Huawei and ZTE.
Virkkunen directly refuses to answer whether Finns should be concerned about Tiktok’s data center.
“It’s good to be judged by many angles,” he repeats.
“Our legislation requires that European data must be kept safely,” Virkkunen emphasizes.
Facts
Henna Virkkunen
Year of Birth: 1972
Party: Coalition and European People’s Party
Served as a ministerial in three boards in 2010–2014
Member of the European Parliament in 2014-2024
Current task: Vice -President of the European Commission
Responsibilities: Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Digitalisation and Pioneering Technologies