EU and Moldova conduct stress test on potential digital hybrid threats ahead of parliamentary elections
On 11 June, The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Moldova’s Ministry for Economic Development and Digitalisation, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova and the European Union Partnership Mission (EUPM) in Moldova organised a digital hybrid threats simulation in Chisinau.
The full-day simulation of threat scenarios aimed to enhance awareness and effective response by all relevant actors to potential malign disinformation campaigns and cyber-attacks intended to disrupt the forthcoming parliamentary election, scheduled for 28 September 2025.
Representatives from Google, Meta, and TikTok voluntarily participated in the simulation alongside Moldovan authorities, civil society organisations, fact-checkers, independent media, as well as international partners.
The simulation was built on the election readiness exercise conducted in Chisinau in September 2024 and the stress test held with online platforms ahead of the 2024 European elections.
The simulation also follows the EU’s recent deployment of a group of experts, the Hybrid Rapid Response Team, to support Moldova against foreign interference. On 20 May 2025, the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and the Commission concluded an amendment to Moldova’s Digital Europe Programme association agreement, which will allow Moldova access to the EU Cybersecurity Reserve under the Cyber Solidarity Act. The recently adopted Cyber Crisis Management Blueprint also recommends joint EU exercises with Moldova and other candidate countries, given their common exposure to cyber threats.
It was also announced that, in order to support Moldova in addressing challenges related to foreign interference and disinformation, a new regional hub of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) would be established. The hub will focus on Russian disinformation and will cover, among others, Moldova. It is expected to begin its work soon and will also conduct dedicated monitoring during the upcoming electoral period in Moldova.
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