On Tuesday 28 January, the European Commissioner for Democracy and Justice, Michael McGrath, announced that the internal European Commission working group responsible for preparing the ‘Democracy shield’ initiative would begin its work on Wednesday 29 January.
“There is no predetermined solution”, he replied to a question asking him to describe the outlines of this initiative announced by the President of the Commission when she was re-elected by the European Parliament last July (see EUROPE 13456/1).
According to the European Commissioner, the topics to be discussed include foreign interference, the manipulation of information, the mechanism for verifying information, the conduct of electoral processes and the greater involvement of citizens in the democratic process. But it did not specify the nature of the forthcoming initiative, whether it would be a communication or a legislative text.
Poland’s Minister for European Affairs, Adam Szłapka, has given assurances that the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU is committed to working with the European Commission in the first half of 2025. He stressed the importance of a “strong civil society” in guaranteeing solid democratic foundations.
The European Parliament has set up a special ‘EUDS’ committee to work on a ‘European Shield for Democracy’ (see EUROPE 13543/14). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)