EU Withdraws Sponsorship from Disinfo2026 Event in Lithuania

The European Union on Thursday announced the withdrawal of its sponsorship from Disinfo2026, a disinformation conference held in Vilnius, Lithuania. The decision came after media reports, including in The Guardian, indicated pressure from the US government. The EU’s External Action Service (EEAS), along with the governments of Canada and Lithuania, pulled support at short notice, with sponsors’ logos at the event hastily covered with paper strips.

EU spokesperson Christian Wigand did not mention any external pressure when explaining the move. He stated that the EU was “not comfortable with the framing of some of the discussions at the event.” Wigand added that the organizers chose to frame some discussions in a way that does not align with official EU positions. He declined to provide details on which discussions or framing were problematic, and would not comment on whether talks with US officials had taken place, citing a principle of not commenting on diplomatic exchanges.

Controversial Sessions

The two-day event at the Radisson Blu Lietuva Hotel featured sessions that drew attention. The opening session was an interview with Kimberly Prost, a judge at the International Criminal Court, which has faced heavy criticism from the Trump administration. This was followed by an hour-long session titled “USA as a FIMI threat: acknowledge, adapt, push back,” with FIMI standing for Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference. One planned speaker was a former CIA officer. The United States has maintained a comparatively hands-off approach to combating disinformation due to First Amendment free speech safeguards, an approach that has arguably intensified under President Donald Trump. Critics have alleged this is partly due to Trump’s own often uneasy relationship with truth.