BRUSSELS (AP) — With European Union elections closing in, EU leaders are calling for measures to tackle the deliberate spread of disinformation.

EU leaders said Friday that the threat "is an acute and strategic challenge for our democratic systems."

In a statement from their summit in Brussels, the leaders call for "an urgent response that needs to be sustained over time, in full respect of fundamental rights."

They call for "swift and decisive action" aimed at "securing free and fair European and national elections," and the leaders order EU ministers to report back on progress in March.

Elections to the European Parliament are to be held across Europe in late May. Britain will not take part as it is leaving the bloc.