Democracy and our values

Overview

Europe’s future in a fractured world will depend on having a strong democracy and on defending the values that give Europeans the freedoms and rights that they cherish. Building on what has been achieved already, in this new mandate the EU will do more to protect democracy and its citizens from rising threats posed by internal and foreign actors, while strengthening the rule of law that serves as its foundation and which is fundamental for prosperity, competitiveness and a well functioning single market. The vision of a continent united by democracy, the rule of law and respect of fundamental freedoms, and having its citizens at its heart, will always drive our work.

What Europeans think

86%

of Europeans agree that the rapid spread of disinformation is a major problem for democracy

81%

of Europeans believe that foreign interference in our democratic systems is a serious problem that needs to be addressed

90%

of EU citizens recognise the importance of the respect for EU values, including the rule of law

Objectives

Democracy and our rights cannot be taken for granted. They must be promoted and vindicated every day. Moreover, citizens must play a central role in the democratic process. They must be included in the functioning of institutions they trust. This is why the EU commits to

Protect and defend democracy
and increase societal resilience and preparedness
Strengthen the rule of law
for a fair and well-functioning society
Champion civic engagement and participation
to bring citizens’ ideas at the heart of policy-making

How we will achieve our objectives

In the next few years, we will work on:

Protecting our democracy

Europe’s democratic systems and institutions are under attack. To protect our democracy, we will:

propose a new European democracy shield to counter foreign information manipulation and interference online, by detecting, analysing and proactively countering disinformation and information manipulation as well as hybrid threats
work to increase digital and media literacy to improve societal resilience and preparedness
create a European network of fact-checkers which will be available in all EU languages
continue to step up digital enforcement, including of the Digital Services Act and AI Act, to ensure a fair and open online platform environment, prevent dissemination of misinformation and deepfakes and protect civic discourse and electoral processes
address emerging threats to the integrity of elections across Europe, including by ensuring that transparency requirements in the AI Act, the Digital Services Act and the transparency of political advertising regulation are implemented and strengthening our approach to AI-produced content

Participation of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in the plenary session of the European Parliament

Strengthening the rule of law

In today’s world, where the resilience of our democracies, societies and economies are constantly put to the test, our values are what bind us together and make us stronger. Rule of law makes our society and economies work and ensures that fundamental rights are protected, corruption is tackled, and contracts are enforced. That is why we will:

consolidate the Rule of Law Report and ensure it looks at all issues across Europe, including by adding the single market dimension to the report
continue to improve our monitoring and reporting on the rule of law, and to strengthen checks and balances, notably by tracking the implementation of recommendations
invest in upholding the rule of law through EU funding for national measures, for example on fighting corruption
ensure that respect for the rule of law is a must for EU funds, by building a closer link between the recommendations in the Rule of Law Report and financial support
make sure that the general regime of conditionality is applied to all EU funds in the future long-term budget
support free media across the Union by implementing the European Media Freedom Act and increasing our support for and protection of independent media and journalists

The statuette of Themis, goddess of divine justice

Putting citizens at the heart of our democracy

To integrate citizens’ participation in policymaking, we will:

regularly choose policy areas where recommendations from a European Citizens’ Panel would have the greatest value, and follow up on the citizens’ recommendations
step up our engagement with civil society organisations that have expertise and an important role to play in defending specific societal issues and upholding human rights
strengthen the network of more than 3,000 local councillors to get a better understanding of how the EU impacts everyday life

Progress to date

Monitor, follow, and stay updated on the progress of new initiatives, proposed laws and legislative changes under this priority

7 May 2024
Entry into force of the European Media Freedom Act
9 April 2024
EU approves new rules on improving the transparency of political advertising in elections
12 December 2023
Defence of democracy: The Commission proposes to shed light on covert foreign influence
16 December 2022
First European Citizens' Panel as a follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe

In the spotlight

The first Youth Dialogue of the new Commission

On 6 December 2024, Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, held the first Youth Dialogue of the new Commission, in Perl, Germany.

The Youth dialogue took place with 30 teens, aged 16 to 18. The participants discussed the European Commission’s role and some of the files of the Commissioner, such as internal security, migration, and the future of the Schengen area. The Youth dialogues are an opportunity to encourage young people to actively engage in democratic life and enable a better understanding of the choices behind policy decisions as well as their impact.

More exchanges with the EU’s youth are yet to come, so that young people can be heard and help shape the Commission’s work.