THE LATEST | CANADAThe irony could not be thicker.
The European Commission has defended freedom of expression as a core European value, even as the European Union imposes asset freezes and travel bans — without a court trial — on European citizens for exercising that very right in their public commentary on the Ukraine war.
In a post on social media on Christmas eve, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said freedom of speech was “the foundation of our strong and vibrant European democracy” and pledged that it would be protected.
Her remarks came days after the United States imposed visa restrictions on five European nationals, including former EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. Washington said the measures were a response to what it described as European efforts to pressure American technology companies into censoring lawful speech through the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
US officials accused Mr Breton, one of the architects of the legislation, of attempting to coerce online platforms into suppressing viewpoints protected under the US Constitution. Mr Breton rejected the allegation, calling the move a “McCarthy-style witch hunt”.
At the same time, the European Union has expanded its own sanctions regime against individuals accused of spreading Russian propaganda. On 15 December, the European Council added several Western nationals to its restrictive measures list, including the Swiss military analyst Jacques Baud and the French commentator Xavier Moreau.
These actions followed the sanctioning of German journalist Hüseyin Doğru earlier this year on 20 May—marking the first time the EU has leveraged anti-Russia sanctions to target domestic dissent and Palestine solidarity reporting within a member state.
The EU targeted Doğru for his role as the founder of red. media, accusing him of maintaining close ties with Russia and using his platform to facilitate coordinated information manipulation. Doğru’s coverage of Germany’s pro-Palestine protests, the Council claims, “supports actions” by Russia “including by indirectly supporting and facilitating violent demonstrations and engaging in coordinated information manipulation.” The Council justified Doğru’s listing by claiming he “systematically spread false information” to create “ethnic, political, and religious discord” in Germany. However, the only primary evidence cited was red. media’s exclusive reporting of pro-Palestine student uprisings in Berlin.
Mr Baud, a former Swiss intelligence officer and NATO veteran, has not been accused of criminal activity. The EU said he had acted as a “mouthpiece for pro-Russian propaganda” and had disseminated narratives that sought to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions include an asset freeze and a travel ban within the EU.
The EU’s treatment of Hüseyin Doğru is particularly alarming. Misidentified as Turkish despite holding only German citizenship, his life and work in Germany are effectively destroyed. He cannot access funds, purchase essentials, or accept support. All this, despite the fact he has broken no law; his reporting remains entirely legal.
Doğru accused the EU of hypocrisy over its sanctions for spreading Russian propaganda. Responding directly to Ursula von der Leyen’s tweet on free speech, he wrote on X: “You literally sanctioned me for exercising my freedom of speech.”
Critics say the measures amount to punishment for analysis and opinion rather than unlawful conduct. EU officials argue they are necessary to counter foreign information operations aimed at undermining European security.
The debate is no longer theoretical. For those sanctioned, the consequences are immediate and personal — frozen assets, travel bans and reputational damage — imposed without a criminal trial.
As Europe seeks to define its role in a fractured global order, the question remains whether it can defend itself against disinformation without eroding the freedoms it says distinguish it from its adversaries. For a union purportedly built on the rule of law, it is hard to imagine a clearer violation of the principle of freedom of expression. +TCE
Europe defends its digital rules after Trump administration targets Breton with visa ban