Sandro Gozi, former Italian minister turned French MEP, fights ‘fake news

Published on Ouest-Frane by Stéphane VERNAY, 18/03/2024

He was Secretary of State for European Affairs in his home country, Italy, before joining the European Parliament on the French Renew Europe list.

Sandro Goziwas Secretary of State for European Affairs in the Italian governments of Matteo Renzi and Paolo Gentiloni between 2014 and 2018. Elected to the European Parliament on the French Renaissance list, he is a member of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament.

What have the French MEPs done with the mandate given to them in 2019? Ouest-Francemeets some of them, asks them four questions – always the same ones – and broadcasts their answers in the form of short videos. Here, Sandro Gozi, former Secretary of State for European Affairs of the Republic of Italy, now a Renaissance MEP, elected in 2019 on the Renew Europe list.

In Strasbourg and Brussels, Sandro Gozi is a member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection; the Committee on Constitutional Affairs; and the Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries.

What does an MEP do?

An MEP passes laws. European laws. We call them regulations or directives, but they are laws. We decide on them together: the representatives of the citizens of the European Union, in other words the MEPs elected by direct universal suffrage to the European Parliament, and the representatives of the States, in other words the ministers of the Council of the European Union. Firstly, therefore, a Member of the European Parliament makes laws. Secondly, they must defend the political projects for which they were elected. Thirdly, they must defend the interests of the citizens of the European Union. Just as at national level MEPs represent the nation, at European level MEPs represent the citizens of the Union. It’s a fascinating job, but a very difficult one…

What has been your main focus during the 2019-2024 term of office?

The fight against disinformation and the fight to better protect our democracies and our elections. This is a fundamental theme. It’s very serious: since Brexit, since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, since Russian interference in our elections, we know that we need to better protect our democracies and our electoral processes. And we know that, particularly on social networks, this is an increasingly serious problem. I worked hard on the ‘transparency and targeting of political advertising’ law. For me, this was the most difficult issue of my entire experience as a politician! This new European law to ensure the transparency of election campaigns will apply to all elections, from municipal to presidential and European. I am convinced that we are going to provide a very, very strong legislative response to disinformation and fake news.

The new European law on ‘ transparency and targeting of political advertising’ will apply to all elections, from municipal to presidential and European. It will be a powerful response to disinformation and fake news.

– Sandro Gozi, Renaissance MEP.

Have you seen the lobbies and corruption? How are you resisting?

These are two different things. Lobbies are recognised in Brussels. There is a transparency register in which interest representatives are registered. These are the people we work with, and they are of very different types. They range from climate protection NGOs to big tech companies. After that, there’s lobbying that isn’t official and that we have to fight, it’s behind-the-scenes influence that isn’t transparent. It has increased because the importance of the European Union and the powers of the European Parliament have increased. And then there are cases of corruption, as, unfortunately, in all human activities. And in this legislature, following QatarGate, new measures have been taken to combat conflicts of interest, to increase transparency and to better protect the places where decisions are taken for European democracy and the European Parliament.

Are you running again in 2024?

My intention is absolutely to return. I’m very grateful to the French voters for electing me and for writing a small line in the history of the European Parliament because it was the first time that a former minister from one country was elected in another country. I represent this transnational European policy that is at the heart of our movement’s political commitment, and I am perfectly willing to stand for re-election. We will never have a real European democracy until we have built a real transnational European policy and real European political movements. This is the meaning of my commitment and this is why I am ready to leave again.