The European Parliament's Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield adopted its findings and recommendations on Tuesday, setting out proposals on foreign information manipulation and interference, critical infrastructure, digital and media resilience and civil preparedness, intended to feed into the creation of a European Democracy Shield.

The proposals were adopted with 20 votes in favour, 9 against and 2 abstentions. MEPs on the committee are calling for an operational shield backed by binding tools, stronger sanctions, platform accountability and a fully-fledged EU centre for democratic resilience.

New EU centre for democratic resilience

MEPs support establishing an EU centre for democratic resilience through a binding legal act with clear operational parameters, a dedicated budget and governance involving all member states. The centre would incorporate existing cooperation systems and crisis management capacity and would need to remain adaptable to evolving threats, according to the committee.

Russia named as primary threat

The report identifies Russia as the primary threat to Europe's democratic integrity, citing frequent hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure including cyberattacks, physical sabotage, arson, espionage and signal jamming, with related activity also originating from Belarus, China, Iran and North Korea.

MEPs are calling for relevant EU agencies to be given greater capacity to act against hybrid activities and sabotage, potentially by adding hybrid threats to Europol's mandate, alongside expanded sanctions targeting enablers of Russian disinformation and non-EU entities, particularly Chinese ones, that help circumvent sanctions and facilitate Russian operations. The committee also wants a coordinated EU response to Russia's blacklisting of EU citizens, journalists and MEPs.

Separately, MEPs are proposing an annual "European Preparedness Day" on 24 February to mark the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, along with an EU-wide crisis alert app and the production and distribution of household preparedness booklets.

Reducing reliance on foreign technology

The committee says it is urgent for the EU to reduce its dependence on foreign-controlled technology in critical sectors, particularly on US technology companies and Chinese hardware, including through a "buy European" strategy for critical infrastructure investment and diversification toward more reliable suppliers of critical raw materials. The report stresses enforcing existing digital rules on platforms rather than introducing new legislation, as well as defending the EU's right to govern its own market.

On online interference specifically, MEPs are calling for faster platform responses to electoral interference, particularly bot-driven activity, clearer distinction between synthetic and authentic content, and greater prominence for independent and verified sources. The committee also wants support for the contextual advertising market and alternatives to behavioural targeting based on personal data, stronger traceability and transparency to combat the monetisation of disinformation, and measures to expose covert disinformation campaigns that exploit generative AI. MEPs stressed that while the Democracy Shield must protect freedom of expression and information, these rights exist to protect people, not machines, and cannot be used to tolerate illegal content or the hybrid operations of authoritarian regimes.

Protecting elections

To safeguard election integrity and prevent proxy financing and interference, the committee is proposing measures against malicious deepfakes and fraudulent advertising, protections for female candidates, and the classification of electoral infrastructure as critical. MEPs also want full enforcement of the EU's Anti-Money Laundering Directive and the rules on beneficial ownership registers, a "know your donor" principle for cryptocurrency, and the closing of remaining loopholes in the Crypto-Assets Regulation.

The report calls for an ambitious reform of the European Cooperation Network on Elections, as well as investigations into evidence of espionage targeting EU and member state institutions by Hungarian officials under the country's previous government, and allegations of sensitive information sharing with Russia.

Media freedom and civil society

On protecting independent media and civil society, the committee is calling for long-term funding commitments on media freedom, effective enforcement of the prohibition on illegal spyware, and the possible introduction of a protection status for investigative journalists. It also wants EU media literacy programmes, including critical awareness of AI-generated content aimed particularly at minors, and an analysis of the impact of US aid cuts on media pluralism, especially in regions neighbouring the EU, alongside stable funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

MEPs are also calling for ambitious funding for civil society under the AgoraEU programme, safeguards for academic freedom, protection of cultural memory against Russian historical revisionism, and measures to support civic participation, particularly among young people.

The report calls for dedicated support from EU delegations abroad and from security and defence missions in EU candidate countries, including Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkans, Armenia and Georgia, targeting foreign information manipulation and interference. It also calls for action against transnational repression and the use of migration as a tool of pressure.

Rapporteur's comments

Rapporteur Tomas Tobé, of the European People's Party from Sweden, said foreign information manipulation, disinformation and hybrid interference are becoming increasingly sophisticated and coordinated. He said Russia remains the primary threat to Europe's democratic integrity and that no member state can counter it effectively alone, which is why the report calls for a practical reform agenda centred on stronger operational capabilities, greater accountability and enhanced preparedness.

Tobé and committee chair Nathalie Loiseau, of Renew Europe from France, held a press conference following the vote. The full European Parliament is set to vote on the report at its September plenary session.

Karpass #