At the General Affairs Council on Tuesday 24 February, the European Commission and the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union invited European ministers to launch work on the ‘European Centre for Democratic Resilience’.
This is a central initiative of the ‘European Democracy Shield’ (see EUROPE 13750/4) aimed at improving cooperation between Member States against threats to democratic processes, in particular foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).
Presented as a hub for cooperation, the Centre is intended to facilitate the sharing of expertise and the coordination of national responses.
At the press conference following the Council, the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law, Michael McGrath, stated that the aim was to facilitate the sharing of competences between Member States and to enable and develop responses to common threats.
The first year is expected to see the development of tools to protect the integrity of electoral processes, the preparation of a European blueprint against disinformation, and the establishment, for this purpose, of a network bringing together civil society, researchers, the media and public authorities.
As highlighted by the Cypriot Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, protecting democracy is a political priority for the Cyprus Presidency, which intends to make progress on the European Democracy Shield in a coherent and operational manner, in close cooperation with the Commission.
The Centre will be supported by a Commission secretariat, which will work with the European External Action Service and may involve the candidate countries. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)