election-watch.eu

Brussels, 10 February 2026: Election-Watch.EU submitted a written contribution to Members of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield, in response to the draft report on its findings and recommendations, published in December 2025.

The submission highlights the importance of emphasising the importance of electoral integrity in the European Democracy Shield framework, particularly in the context of increasing threats linked to foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), illicit political funding and disinformation campaigns, and the growing influence of AI-generated content in political communication.

Election-Watch.EU emphasised the need for stronger mechanisms to ensure the systematic monitoring and follow-up of electoral recommendations issued by institutions such as the European Commission, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), and the Council of Europe’s monitoring bodies including the Venice Commission and the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), as well as citizen election observer organisations like Election-Watch.EU, whose 2019 and 2024 reports were referenced in the EU reports.

In its submission, Election-Watch.EU proposed several targeted amendments to the draft report, including the formal inclusion of recognised citizen election observation organisations within national election networks and EU-level monitoring mechanisms. The organisation also recommended the establishment of a permanent monitoring group linked to the European Cooperation Network on Elections (ECNE) to oversee the implementation of electoral integrity standards and recommendations across Member States.

The forthcoming EU Strategy for Civil Society is expected to complement the European Democracy Shield by strengthening the role of civil society organisations in safeguarding democratic processes, including through structured participation in the planned stakeholder platform and other mechanisms supporting democratic resilience across the Union.

As part of 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, Election-Watch.EU has also been contributing submissions to policy and legislative processes.  

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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