On Thursday 29 January, the European Parliament's Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield examined the draft report entitled 'Findings and recommendations of the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield’, which follows on from the Communication on a European Democracy Shield presented by the European Commission on 12 November (see EUROPE 13750/4) to improve the EU’s capacity to deal with threats to the integrity of its democratic processes, particularly in the light of the latest digital developments.
Presenting his text, rapporteur Tomas Tobé (EPP, Swedish) described a Europe faced with increasingly sophisticated information warfare, waged in parallel with military aggression.
He recalled that disinformation campaigns and foreign interference operations, largely conducted online, constituted a direct threat to European democracies. And he called on the EU to adapt its political and institutional tools to counter them.
According to the report, the Commission’s communication is a useful first step, but insufficient given the scale of the threats.
The report advocates a move towards a genuine reform agenda, so that the EU is fully capable of detecting, preventing and countering interference. The creation of a ‘European Centre for Democratic Resilience’ is central to this.
However, if the principle is supported, the proposal would be too limited, with no solid legal basis, no dedicated budget and no clear role for detecting, analysing and responding to interference, beyond its mere coordinating role.
The text recommends that this centre should assume responsibility for existing EU structures and tools in the fight against information manipulation and foreign interference, in order to overcome the disparate approaches of the Member States.
It also calls on the Commission to clarify the ways in which the EU can support Member States and to consider specific funding mechanisms, including a contribution from major online platforms.
Finally, the text looks at the application of the Digital Services Act to electoral issues and political financing, as well as the role of independent journalism, civil society and media literacy.
While several MEPs, including Ana Catarina Mendes (S&D, Portuguese) and Kim Van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA, Dutch), supported greater European action against interference and manipulation of information, others, such as Jaroslav Bžoch (PfE, Czech) and Mariusz Kamiński (ECR, Polish), pointed out that the organisation of elections was a matter for the Member States and expressed concern about an extension of the EU’s competences, although they acknowledged the reality of hybrid threats.
In response to these reservations, Tomas Tobé stressed that the aim of the proposals was to make better use of existing EU tools, without calling into question national competences.
The deadline for the tabling of amendments is 11 February.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/kh6 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)