Andorra's Espot Urges European Cooperation on Disinformation at Dublin Summit

Andorra's head of government, Xavier Espot, called for stronger cooperation among European states to counter disinformation, foreign interference and cyberattacks during the 9th Summit of the European Political Community in Dublin, warning these threats can erode public trust in democratic institutions, weaken social cohesion and disrupt digital systems and public services.

Speaking during a roundtable on protecting democracy, Espot argued that small states should be able to take part in European initiatives against cyberattacks, saying cybersecurity is also a matter of sovereignty. He stressed that such challenges do not respect borders, and neither can the response be confined within national ones.

The summit, held at the Irish capital's convention centre and chaired by Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, brought together around fifty heads of state and government from across the continent, including both EU and non-EU countries, under the theme "Europe: strong, secure, connected." Discussions covered competitiveness, innovation, energy security and continental stability. European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also took part.

The Andorran leader highlighted the need to protect children online, pointing to his government's planned legislation to restrict social media access for under-16s and tighten age-verification mechanisms. He also reaffirmed Andorra's willingness to contribute to Council of Europe work against information manipulation and foreign interference.

On the sidelines of the summit, Espot joined a meeting of the European Coalition against Drugs, where he expressed Andorra's support for the declaration adopted to strengthen collaboration on prevention and the fight against illicit trafficking.

During his working day in Dublin, the head of government held bilateral meetings with several European leaders, including Liechtenstein's Prime Minister Brigitte Haas, Prince Albert of Monaco and San Marino's Foreign Minister Luca Beccari, with whom he discussed the priorities of small states within Europe.