FPO: Brussels is attacking democracy and the sovereignty of member states.

Petra Steger, an MEP of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), has sharply criticised the Niinisto report on „Strengthening Europe’s civil and military preparedness and readiness”. The report, commissioned by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is another building block towards establishing an EU superstate with far-reaching powers in security matters,” she said.

„These reports – whether they come from Mario Draghi or Sauli Niinisto – are nothing but attacks on democracy and the sovereignty of member states. The EU wants to force states to finance enormous expenditures, preferably from ever mounting common debt, whether it is about creating self-destructive barriers to competitiveness, or about expanding the arms industry, which is the focus this time around,”

Steger lashed out in a speech at the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday.

EU secret service without democratic control

In particular, the MEP warned against plans to create a full-scope EU secret service: „This would be an unprecedented attack on the sovereignty of nation states and the fundamental rights of citizens. Secret services must be under strict democratic control. An EU secret service would undermine this control and create a non-transparent instrument of power in the hands of the Brussels bureaucracy,” she stressed. Steger also sharply criticised the fight against alleged disinformation, arguing that under this pretext, a surveillance apparatus is to be set up to massively restrict the freedom of expression on the internet.

„The Niinisto report is more nuanced than the Digital Services Act, which imposes censorship measures on operators of online forums. However, media literacy is to be imparted to – or rather drummed into – citizens in every possible way, Steger pointed out, noting that everyone can imagine what this means in an EU that instantly labels any critic as an „enemy of liberal democracy”.