European cooperation network on elections
As part of broad efforts to protect the 2019 elections to the European Parliament, the Commission supported Member States by establishing and organising meetings of the European cooperation network on elections. This network brings together representatives of Member States’ authorities with competence in electoral matters, and allows for concrete and practical exchanges on a range of topics relevant to ensuring free and fair elections, including data protection, cyber-security, transparency and awareness raising. It also supports cooperation with other European level groups and bodies, thereby enabling mutual support and a wider and effective dissemination of relevant alerts and other information. In this way, the network has in the immediate period following its inauguration on 21 January 2019 contributed to supporting the integrity of the 2019 elections to the European Parliament. It will continue its work to address potential risks and identify solutions, and contribute to building more resilient electoral and democratic systems across the European Union.
Meetings
Meeting of 21 February 2024
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Meeting of 6 December 2023
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Meeting of 27 September 2023
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Meeting of 12 June 2023
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Meeting of 29 March 2023
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Meeting of 16 January 2023
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Meeting of 28 November 2022
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Meeting of 21 September 2022
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Meeting of 4 May 2022
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Meeting of 24 January 2022
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Meeting of 22 October 2021
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Meeting of 10 June 2021
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Meeting of 25 March 2021
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Meeting of 28-29 January 2021
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Meeting of 25 September 2020
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Meeting of 24 June 2020
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Meeting of 27 November 2019
Meeting of 7 June 2019
Meeting of 4 April 2019
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Meeting of 27 February 2019
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Meeting of 21 January 2019
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Sub-group on the preparation of a compendium of e-voting practices
In December 2020, the European Democracy Action Plan announced that the Commission will prepare a compendium of electronic voting (e-voting) practices together with Member States and in close cooperation with the Council of Europe, which has already issued substantial guidance in this area, including on accessibility for persons with disabilities and older persons. During a meeting of the European cooperation network on elections in January 2022, Member States were invited to discuss practices in e-voting and electronic democratic participation. It was agreed that a subgroup of the network with representatives from those Member States interested in preparing a compendium of e-voting practices would be established. The role of the subgroup will be to support the Commission in the preparation of a compendium of e-voting practices.
Meeting of 7 June 2022
Meeting of 8 April 2022
Sub-group on the preparation of a guide of good electoral practice addressing participation of citizens with disabilities in the electoral process
In March 2021, the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 announced that the Commission will prepare in close cooperation with Member States in the framework of the European Cooperation Network on Elections a guide of good electoral practice addressing participation of citizens with disabilities in the electoral process.
In September 2021, a subgroup of the European Cooperation Network on Elections was formed, with the participation of Member States’ experts, to support the Commission in the preparation of the guide. The subgroup reports on its progress to the European Cooperation Network on Elections.
Meeting of 14 September 2022
Joint mechanism for electoral resilience
Cooperation among Member States to ensure resilient electoral processes and mutual support to address threats is essential. As announced in the European Democracy Action Plan and the Communication on protecting election integrity and promoting democratic participation, a ‘joint mechanism for electoral resilience’ has been established as of 2022.
The ‘joint mechanism for electoral resilience’ is organised and coordinated through the European Cooperation Network on Elections in close cooperation with the Network and Information.
Systems (NIS) Cooperation Group and the EU’s Rapid Alert System. Its primary operational focus is to support deployment of joint expert teams and expert exchanges with the aim of building resilient electoral processes, in particular in the area of online forensics, disinformation and cybersecurity of elections. Further types of actions could be gradually envisaged such as common training sessions and the common development of IT systems.
Meeting of 11-12 December 2023
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Meeting of 12-13 January 2023
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