election-watch.eu

Brussels, 12 February 2026: Election-Watch.EU participated in the CERV programme kick-off meeting organised by the European Commission (EC) in Brussels, bringing together organisations implementing projects under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme. Besides learning more about the administration of the CERV project the EC provided more insight into the strategic context of EU democracy support, including recent policy developments such as the European Democracy Action Plan, the Defence of Democracy package, and the emerging European Democracy Shield framework including the Centre for Democratic Resilience.

During the visit to Brussels, Election-Watch.EU also had the opportunity to meet with representatives of DG JUST of the EC as well as representatives of the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO). Election-Watch.EU presented its ongoing work under the NEEDS-EU project (Network for Engagement, Electoral Democracy and Standards in the EU), implemented under the CERV framework, which focuses on strengthening citizen election observation, electoral participation and democratic standards across EU Member States. The meetings also provided an opportunity to discuss the role of the European Cooperation Network on Elections (ECNE) and the Commission’s ongoing work to develop common reference standards for electoral processes within the EU.  

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centre for democratic resilience, CERV, citizen led election observation, Civil Society, democracy shield, European Commission, inclusion in elections