New measures will increase transparency to better protect European democracy

In democratic and open societies, everyone can freely express themselves, fully participate, and enjoy their rights and freedoms. But in Europe, democracy also has its enemies. Some have made attempts to exploit societal division and spread disinformation to weaken the democratic voice of citizens or to distort election campaigns.

For this reason, the Commission has put forward new measures to:

• ensure transparency of foreign interest representation seeking to influence the decision-making process in the Union, by setting up common accountability standards  and a Transparency Register for entities carrying out interest representation activities on behalf of a third country
• strengthen electoral processes in the EU, supporting high voter turnouts, and protecting election-related infrastructure and cyber security
• ensure citizens and civil society organisations can participate in policymaking, by encouraging EU countries to develop a more consistent and organised approach to civic participation

There is a growing concern in the EU that the openness of our societies can be exploited by foreign governments. 81% of respondents to a recent EU survey  agree that foreign interference in our democratic systems is a serious problem. At the same time, we must continue to find ways to make our democracies more resilient by encouraging active participation in our democracies.

This new package builds on the European Democracy Action Plan adopted in 2020, and is an important additional action to strengthen democracies across the EU ahead of the 2024 European elections.

For more information

Protecting democracy

Factsheet on the Defence of Democracy proposals

Press release: Defence of Democracy – Commission proposes to shed light on covert foreign influence

Questions and answers: Defence of Democracy

Eurobarmoter survey on democracy