Democracy under pressure: FPÖ MP criticizes secret meetings with Microsoft

Democracy under pressure: FPÖ MP criticizes secret meetings with Microsoft

Berlin, Deutschland - On June 3, 2025, a meeting of the Sede Defense Committee, which was sharply criticized by Petra Steger, MEP of the FPÖ, was sharply criticized. Steger described the event, which took place in the exclusion of the public and was only allowed to participate in the factions coordinators, as a "democratic scandal". She warned of the growing influence of transnational corporations on security policy decisions in the European Union and demanded full transparency and parliamentary control.

In her appeal, Steger asked the central question: Does the EU want a Europe of citizens or corporations? She pleaded for a return to the basic principles of parliamentary democracy to avoid elite agreements.

Microsoft's initiative for cyber security

The European security program comprises three central elements: First, the increase in the threat information based on AI with European governments, secondly additional investments for strengthening cyber security capacity and resilience, and thirdly expanded partnerships to combat cybernelle attacks and to break up cybercrimal networks. The initiative is available free of charge to all 27 EU member states, EU membership candidates, EFTA members as well as the United Kingdom, Monaco and the Vatican.

growing cyber threats

The need for such measures was reinforced by the continued threat of state -funded actors from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea that targeted European networks. Russia in particular focuses on Ukraine and the support of European countries. At the same time, cybercriminal ransomware-as-a-service solutions develop and use AI for various malignant activities. Microsoft has taken countermeasures by monitoring the harmful use of AI models and preventing known threat actors from misusing their products.

The new program approach by Microsoft is accompanied by strategic investments, which in particular are intended to strengthen the cooperation between public and private sector, including a pilot program with Europol. Furthermore, Microsoft renews his partnership with the cyberpeace institute to support NGOs and trace the origin of ransomware.

The EU cyber security strategy

As part of these discussions, the European Commission presented a new cyber security strategy that aims to secure the digital transformation and to cope with the increasing number of cyber attacks. In particular, it is expected that the EU will be a leader in safe digitization and that standards for cyber security for critical infrastructures are developed.

The strategy includes measures to improve resilience and technological sovereignty of the EU and promote cooperation with global partners who share similar democratic values. It aims to build collective skills to respond to large cyber attacks and to establish a common cyber unit.

Microsoft's new security program integrates into this strategic orientation and represents a significant step towards a more robust cyber security architecture in Europe. It becomes clear that responsibility for security in the digital world is not only the governments, but also for companies and citizens - a central challenge of today.

The debate about the transparency and influence of large corporations, as addressed by Petra Steger, remains an essential topic in the upcoming negotiations and initiatives at European level.

For more information, please read the articles from Our Central Europe , Microsoft blogs and Digital Strategy EU .

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