Source: European Parliament
As part of the Defence of Democracy Package[1], the Commission presented a proposal for a directive on transparency of third country interest representation[2], which is being discussed by the co-legislators.
The package also includes a recommendation on promoting civic engagement[3] and a recommendation on inclusive and resilient elections[4].
The Commission is preparing a report on the elections to the European Parliament assessing, among others, the follow-up to the latter Recommendation.
Recent elections in the EU show that the threat landscape is increasingly complex, notably marked by foreign interference, information manipulation and disinformation, covert political campaign financing, and direct attacks on electoral processes and institutions, including cyber-attacks, attempting to lower trust in democratic processes.
The Commission is preparing the European Democracy Shield, as announced in the Political Guidelines[5]. It will better protect and promote democracy, addressing the most severe risks to democracy in the EU, building on the Democracy Action Plan[6] and the Defence of Democracy Package.
The Shield will take a whole of society approach and address several issues, including foreign information manipulation and interference and disinformation, the fairness and integrity of elections and the strengthening of democratic checks and balances, including the role of civil society and free, independent and pluralistic media, societal resilience and preparedness and citizens’ participation and engagement.
Putting citizens at the heart of democracy is outlined in the Political Guidelines.