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, equality, the rule of law and respect of fundamental freedoms, and having its citizens at its heart, will always drive our work.
What Europeans think
Sources: Eurobarometer survey 2025 and 2024, Rule of Law survey 2024
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 democracyand 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
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
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
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
- November 2025
Presentation of the European democracy shield to empower, protect and promote strong and resilient democracies
- October 2025
The Commission adopts the LGBTIQ+ equality strategy for 2026-2030
- March 2025
The Commission sets out its roadmap for women's rights
- May 2024
Entry into force of the European Media Freedom Act
- April 2024
- December 2023
Defence of democracy: the Commission proposes to shed light on covert foreign influence
In the spotlight
The European Commission has presented a new European Democracy Shield that provides concrete measures to empower, protect, and promote strong and resilient democracies. It will focus, in particular, on safeguarding the integrity of the information space; strengthening institutions, fair and free elections, and free and independent media; and boosting societal resilience and citizens' engagement. The Commission has also rolled out a new EU Strategy for Civil Society that will help it further engage with civil society organisations as well as support and protect their work. These new series of measures will help the EU counter the increasing threat of foreign interference in elections and disinformation and protect its key values: free people, free and fair elections, free and independent media, a vibrant civil society and strong democratic institutions.
Who is in charge
Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President
Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection