On Wednesday 24 January, the Member States’ ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) held discussions on the ‘Defence of Democracy’ package (see EUROPE 13312/15).
The package, heralded as a milestone in the EU’s ongoing effort to consolidate its democracy, aims to counter foreign interference and encourage the active participation of citizens in democratic processes. Presented on 12 December 2023, it forms part of the preparations for the European elections in 2024 and echoes the State of the Union address by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in September 2022 (see EUROPE 13021/4).
In its preparatory document, the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council stresses that the package has a dual objective: to present legislative proposals and recommendations while examining the progress made since the launch of the European Democracy Action Plan in 2020.
This is based on three fundamental pillars: protecting the integrity of elections, strengthening media freedom and pluralism, and combating disinformation and foreign interference.
A major point in this package is the proposed directive on the transparency of interest representation on behalf of third countries. This proposal aims to establish harmonised standards within the EU internal market for interest representation activities carried out on behalf of third countries.
It requires Member States to maintain national registers to ensure the transparency of these activities and to designate independent authorities to oversee their application. The aim of this initiative is to ensure the proper functioning of the EU market and to strengthen public confidence in the decision-making process.
Among the major issues that will shape the discussions are the scope of the directive, its impact on existing transparency registers, and the possibility of introducing additional measures at EU level to protect democracies and strengthen the resilience of electoral processes.
These discussions were held in the run-up to the policy debate at the EU ‘General Affairs’ Council meeting scheduled for 29 January, which will provide an opportunity to discuss these proposals in greater detail.
To see the note from the EU Council to the Committee of Permanent Representatives: https://aeur.eu/f/ajt (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)