ПРОТИВОДЕЙСТВИЕ «РОССИЙСКОЙ ИНФОРМАЦИОННОЙ УГРОЗЕ» В ПОЛИТИКЕ ЕВРОПЕЙСКОГО СОЮЗА ПОСЛЕ УКРАИНСКОГО КРИЗИСА: ДИСКУРСИВНЫЙ И ИНСТИТУЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ АСПЕКТЫ

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the order and progress of the mobilization of the European Union and its bureaucratic structures to counter the "Russian information threat" after the Ukrainian crisis (2015-2016), the role of individual states and EU bodies in the process of getting involved in the fight against "Russian disinformation" and especially doctrinal consolidation and institutional organization of this opposition in the activities of the European Union. The study showed that of all the communitarian bodies of the European Union, the most active role in promoting the discourse on the "Russian information threat" after the Ukrainian crisis was played by the European Parliament, which was the main platform for bringing this topic to the level of the European public space and the EU political agenda. The most significant practical effect in terms of doctrinal and institutional consolidation of this discourse at the EU level was made by the European External Action Service, within which in mid-2015 the East Stratcom Task Force was formed. The East Stratcom Operational Working Group, responsible for monitoring and timely refutation of "Russian fakes and disinformation", voiced radical assessments in relation to certain (pro) Russian information materials. The European Commission has shown the least activity in strengthening the confrontation with Russia in the information sphere. In doctrinal terms, in 2015–2016 the European Union has made significant progress towards recognizing the relevance of information and so-called “hybrid” threats, however, at the level of the basic position documents adopted during the period under review (primarily the EU Global Strategy 2016), the direct linkage of these threats to Russia was not clearly articulated.