On 12 November, the European Commission presented its long-awaited European Democracy Shield, representing the EU’s umbrella agenda for democracy support for the duration of this commission’s mandate.
EPD, along with 65 other organisations, has been actively engaged in the development of this initiative, focusing on the inclusion of our targeted recommendations in the proposal. While we warmly welcome the initiative, we agree with Commissioner McGrath’s statement at the dedicated press conference that the document presented is only a first step towards the protection and support of democracy across the European continent and will have to adapt to respond to a continually changing context.
The initiative is built on three pillars:
- Safeguarding the integrity of the information space
- Strengthening democratic institutions, free and fair elections, and free and independent media
- Boosting societal resilience and citizens’ engagement
Finally, the document includes a detailed section on the commitment to funding for democracy support and the acknowledgement that additional efforts and support are needed on this front.
Broadly speaking, the European Democracy Shield includes the explicit acknowledgement of a significant majority of our recommendations, albeit with varying degrees of proposed follow-ups. Nevertheless, the current Shield represents a strong commitment by the European Commission to democracy support and marks a crucial first step towards concerted action in this field.
The European Partnership for Democracy will remain actively engaged with all of our members and partners to ensure that the Shield proposed today will indeed meet and exceed the goals it has set.
What follows is an overview of our recommendations and the extent to which the newly minted Shield has included them.
© Cover photo: Aurore Martignoni on the EC – Audiovisual Service, European Union 2025
