election-watch.eu

Brussels, 23-24 September 2025: At FURIC 2025 – Follow-Up on Recommendations’ Implementation Conference in Brussels, Armin Rabitsch, Chairperson of Election-Watch.EU, contributed as closing commentator to the opening high-level panel entitled “Securing Elections in a Weaponized Information Space: The EU’s Response to Authoritarian and Digital Threats.”

The panel brought together Members of the European Parliament, senior representatives from OSCE/ODIHR, and leading election and media experts to examine how authoritarian interference, opaque AI systems, disinformation networks, and platform power are reshaping electoral risks in Europe and beyond:

• Alexandra Geese, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
• Sandro Gozi, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe Group
• Tea Jaliashvili, First Deputy Director, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
• Rasťo Kužel, Executive Director, MEMO 98
• Armin Rabitsch, Chairperson, Election-Watch.EU (closing commentator)
• Armelle Douaud, Director for Democracy Support in the European Parliament’s Directorate-General for External Policies, European Parliament (moderator)

The panelists assessed the EU’s regulatory response, including the Digital Services Act, the Media Freedom Act, the AI Act, and the proposed European Democracy Shield.

Drawing on Election-Watch.EU’s extensive experience in citizen-led election observation and follow-up on recommendations, Armin Rabitsch provided concluding reflections linking policy responses to the practical challenges faced by election observers in data-driven electoral environments, and underlined the importance of coordinated, enforceable follow-up frameworks to protect electoral integrity.

Tanya Hilscher-Bogussevich and Markus Pollak from Election-Watch.EU also participated in the conference. The FURIC conference concluded with a set of 14 recommendations to governments, EMBs, EU institutions and Member States, international partners, as well as election observation community and social media platforms (see FURIC-2025_Concluding-Document_incl. Recommendations).

accountability, citizen led election observation, data protection in elections, election security, EP elections 2024, equality, FURIC, inclusion in elections, transparency, transparency of political campaign