EPD | European Partnership for Democracy

Support for Democracy

in the Next Multi-Annual Financial Framework

Democracy faces global threats. The European Union must commit sufficient funding to support democracy in its next seven-year budget and bolster the bloc’s global leadership in defence of its core values and security interests.

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AHEAD Africa

Empowering civil society to play a leading role in electoral processes

The EPD Network continues to engage with African civil society for better governance and election integrity.

Discover AHEAD Africa
European Responses to Democratic Openings

How did the EU respond to moments of democratic opportunity? Case studies on Brazil, Montenegro, Guatemala, Thailand, Zambia, and Bangladesh.

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Thinking, Advocating, Acting.

Research

We engage in research on the most pressing challenges and opportunities for democracies worldwide.

Policy

We work towards better public policies to support democracy in Europe and around the world.

Programmes

We bring together the expertise of specialists, combining various sectors of democracy support for impactful programmes.

Latest news

15 April 2025 | Statement

The Next Rule of Law Report: More Action, Less Reaction

A group of civil society, human rights, journalist and media support organisations call on the European Commission to strengthen the rule of law dialogue, improve the impact of the Rule of Law Report’s recommendations and take decisive action against systematic human rights violations in EU Member States.

07 April 2025 | Statement

Support for Democracy in the Next Multi-Annual Financial Framework is Key for the EU to Achieve its Ambitions

With the steady erosion of democratic processes and freedoms across the world, words and good intentions will only go so far. It is essential to integrate fundamental rights and democratic governance across EU policy areas. The EU and Member States need to dedicate resources in a more efficient and strategic way to respond more effectively to threats through the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework.

02 April 2025 | Report

European Responses to Moments of Democratic Opportunity

International democracy-support organisations have spent two decades grappling with unfavourable trends and various types and degrees of democratic regression. In doing so, they have neglected to design strategies for responding to moments of democratic opportunity. Our report delves into six case studies in which moments of democratic opportunity have opened in recent years.

Our members

The most important thing about EPD is in our name. We are a partnership bringing together 20 specialist organisations to support democracy.

Our overarching objective as EPD is to contribute to setting a comprehensive and effective agenda for democracy support around the world. For the 2023-2026 period, we identified five priorities to this end. Within each of these five priority areas, we conduct research, work on public policies and implement projects.

International policy

We advocate for strong pro-democracy policies and use evidence from our research and projects to improve the links between policy and practice.

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Innovation

We explore democratic innovations worldwide and link them to democratic renewal through policy recommendations and participation initiatives.

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Inclusion

To ensure fair and effective decision-making processes, we contribute to amplifying the voices of young people, women, minorities and people with disabilities.

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Institutions

We work for resilient and accountable institutions that guarantee free and fair elections, oversight of decision-making and the decentralisation of national powers.

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Information space

We research and act to tackle the most pressing challenges in the information space, supporting media pluralism and the right to freedom of expression.

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