Source: European Parliament
The Commission does not comment about statements that former Commissioners make in their private capacity.
Elections are at the core of democracy, which is a founding value of the EU.
The conduct and the organisation of elections are the competence and responsibility of the Member States, in accordance with their national constitutional and legislative rules, as well as with their international obligations and EU law. National competent authorities and courts have the primary responsibility of ensuring compliance with these rules.
The Commission supports Member States on electoral matters, notably through the framework of the European cooperation network on elections[1], which brings together national authorities with competences in electoral matters and facilitates the exchanges of information and best practices.
The Commission is also working with Member States to support the application of EU law provisions which are relevant in national electoral contexts within the EU, such as under the Digital Service Act[2], the regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising[3] (which will become fully applicable in October 2025), the General Data Protection Regulation[4] and the Artificial Intelligence Act[5].
In 2023, the Commission also published a recommendation on inclusive and resilient electoral processes in the Union[6].
- [1] https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/democracy-eu-citizenship-anti-corruption/democracy-and-electoral-rights/european-cooperation-network-elections_en
- [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R2065. In 2024, the Commission issued Guidelines for providers of Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines on the mitigation of systemic risks for electoral processes, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52024XC03014&qid=1714466886277
- [3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/900/oj/eng
- [4] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj/eng
- [5] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj/eng
- [6] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reco/2023/2829/oj/eng