Thematic Panel 7 - Annual report 2025

Thematic Panel 7 (TP7) on Global and Geopolitical Factors and Undesirable Foreign Influences examines how external crises, foreign interference and transnational networks shape radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism risks in the EU. It brings together policymakers, practitioners and researchers to support evidence-based, rights-respecting prevention and counter-radicalisation policies.

This annual report summarises four panel meetings in 2025 and two restricted ad hoc expert sessions. Discussions covered: the impact of geopolitical crises and foreign interference on EU security; undesirable foreign funding and influence and the need to connect financial intelligence, cross-border cooperation and strategic communication; risks affecting diaspora communities, hybridised extremisms and youth safeguarding through rights-based and community-led approaches, Sahel-related radicalisation, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Middle East, the Western Balkans and state-linked influence dynamics connected to Iran, Russia and China, alongside the spill-over of US-origin narratives into EU extremist ecosystems. Furthermore, TP7 also examined hybrid operations as a case study on digital spillovers, and stronger evaluation of P/CVE interventions.

Key outcomes include a shared understanding that global conflicts increasingly affect EU security via online propaganda, disinformation and hybrid influence; extremist ecosystems are becoming more hybrid and cross-ideological, particularly online; diaspora communities face compounded risks from foreign manipulation and domestic marginalisation; and tackling undesirable foreign funding and influence requires more systematic financial, regulatory and analytical responses.