Former European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova presented the Democracy27 initiative (see EUROPE 13878/26) before the European Parliament’s special committee on the European Democracy Shield (EUDS) on Tuesday 2 June. The former Commissioner thus defended the citizens’ project, which aims to examine the causes of declining trust in democratic institutions and to formulate recommendations by 2027.
Without an official mandate and financed by private funds, Democracy27 is expected to hold consultations in the Member States in order to gather citizens’ expectations. According to Vera Jourova, the initiative is intended to complement policies already launched by the European Union, notably the ‘European Democracy Shield’ presented by the Commission in November 2025 (see EUROPE 13750/4).
The former Commissioner also specified several themes on which the group will work, including political communication, civic education, civil society engagement and digital transformations.
Asked by Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, Spanish) about the application of the Digital Services Act, she explained that it had to be fully implemented in order to ensure that large platforms comply with European rules. Vera Jourova also defended a balanced approach between combating illegal content and protecting freedom of expression.
Several Members of the European Parliament from the Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations groups questioned Mrs Jourova on relations between the European institutions, digital platforms and fact-checkers, on freedom of expression online, on the role of NGOs in public debate, as well as on the handling of certain electoral and health controversies.
Csaba Dömötör (PfE, Hungarian), Petar Volgin (ESN, Bulgarian), Hermann Tertsch (PfE, Spanish), Fabrice Leggeri (PfE, French) and Christine Anderson (ESN, German) notably questioned European mechanisms to combat disinformation and their impact on democratic debate. Vera Jourova replied that fact-checking had to concern facts, not opinions. “Opinions must remain untouched,” she said.
The final report by Democracy27 is expected in the first quarter of 2027, after a consultation phase conducted in the Member States of the European Union. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)