Finally, there is Brussels’ answer to foreign undermining from (particularly) Moscow: a ‘European democracy shield’. On Wednesday, the European Commission presented a plan that should protect democracies in its member states against democratic erosion due to ‘internal and external pressure’.
“It will soon be four years since Russia started the war against Ukraine, and even longer since it opened its offensive on the EU with hybrid attacks, information manipulation and interference. To face these threats, we must stand up and strengthen our confidence in democracy,” Finnish Henna Virkkunen, European Commissioner for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon.
It is in line with the message that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen increasingly repeats: “Our democracy is under attack.” Foreign interference – including during electoral processes – by spreading fake news on (social) media, whether or not generated with AI, and the rise of falsified websites, undermine confidence in democracy and reinforce polarization among citizens. And on top of that is manipulation from within – by autocrats such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán or radical right-wing PVV members.
According to the Commission, the main mission of the New Democracy Shield is ‘to strengthen public confidence in democracy and democratic institutions’.
New attitude and counter-campaigns
To achieve this, a new EU institution is being established: the European Center for Democratic Resilience. The idea is that in the fight against manipulated information and fake news, Member States, candidate countries and EU institutions should combine their expertise. A new network of independent fact-checkers should help with this and make it easier for scientists and journalists to make verified information accessible for research.
A crisis protocol must also be introduced in addition to existing internet regulations (Digital Services Act), so that faster and more decisive action can be taken against disinformation campaigns. The center should also help EU countries launch factually correct counter-campaigns after identifying foreign interference or domestic manipulation. The concerns in Brussels are especially great at the political level. For example, reference is made to the recent elections in Romania and Moldova, in which there was Russian interference on TikTok, among other things.
European Commissioner Virkkunen therefore also advocates stricter European tech rules. AI-generated content must be identified as such by major internet platforms, so that it becomes clearer to citizens more quickly that it is manipulated information. That is not easy: Brussels is constantly in conflict with (American) big techcompanies about European online regulations and the infringement thereof. It is not unusual that American President Donald Trump expresses his disdain for the ‘European desire for regulation’.
Adjustment of merger and advertising rules
The Commission also wants to help independent quality media, which are ‘finding it increasingly difficult’, by adjusting rules for advertising and mergers. But it will not become an obligation, as member states themselves are dominant in determining how national media organize themselves.
To protect our democracy, you must also dare to take action against the techbro oligarchy
MEPs welcome the Commission’s initiative to better protect democracy. Yet, mainly critical notes were cracked on Wednesday. “This proposal is more like one democracy window than a shield,” said GroenLinks-PvdA MEP Kim van Sparrentak. The plan may be full of ways to exchange information, but “action against manipulative algorithms” or the “strengthening of democracy within the member states themselves” is missing. Van Sparrentak: “To protect our democracy, you must also dare to take action against the techbro oligarchy that makes foreign influence possible. Without concrete action, this proposal is more like a European WhatsApp neighborhood watch group.”
MEP Helmut Brandstätter, coordinator of the European Democracy Shield dossier for the liberal Renew Europe faction, agrees. He accuses the Commission of lacking “determination”. Ferm: “Although it would be acceptable in peacetime, it is dangerously inadequate in the current geopolitical situation. Now that Russia is using all the tricks of hybrid warfare, China is quietly playing along and the US is chasing its closest allies, we must be more ambitious.”
The Commission seems to want to, but is encountering external and internal resistance. This is also evident from the initiative to set up a separate intelligence service, where confidential information about the security of Europe should be bundled, the magazine reported. Financial Times out on Tuesday. National security services are wary of this: the ‘leaking’ of information is all too common in Brussels.
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