On day two of the CoR December plenary ECR member Anna Magyar debated with Leendert Verbeek of the Council of Europe on the fight against disinformation. 

Csongrád-Csanád county council member Anna Magyar was well placed for the debate as she also serves as member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

Ms Magyar's angle in the debate was election observation, which for her is "a vital activity in terms of combatting and preventing disinformation and countering one-sided story telling". As observation missions involve members from different countries and political groups, they are a real source of "impartial information about electoral processes, more than what we see in some media", inferred Ms Magyar.

In this regard, the ECR member concluded that it is a pity that joint observation missions between the European Committee of the Regions and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe were discontinued because of financial reasons. Ms Anna Magyar hopes to see this bilateral cooperation resume in the coming years.