The hearings were part of the Special Foreign Intervention Committee of the EP, which addressed the issue with experts from China, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Raphaël Glucksmann, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), chaired the debate.
One committee member, V Bilcik, stressed that disinformation is an important political concern and that the EU "should not shy away from it" at the summit between India and the EU that is to be held in May of this year.
“I have questions about how much these attempts are linked to state sponsorship. Do we have in-depth data on this? Some may not be under direct control [of the Indian government] but perhaps there are some links? Is it possible that this network operated independent of the state?” He asked.
Through an investigation titled Indian Chronicles last year, the European organization EU Disinfolab revealed an Indian network that systematically worked to strengthen pro-Indian, anti-Pakistan and anti-Chinese sentiments in Europe.