The excellent discussion in early December in Brussels brought insightful perspectives and starting points to craft a truly effective European Democracy Shield:
- [ ] The single most effective thing the EU can do in coming years to protect democracy is to address head-on the business model of very large online platforms, and break the monopoly hold they have on advertising revenue. Thank you Alexandra Geese for your straightforward remarks and for not beating about the bush. Supporting legacy media, promoting civic education and media literacy and strengthening fact checking are all important but at the end of the day, and to paraphrase a well known political commentator, “it’s the money, stupid”.
- [ ] There should be no compromise on democratic values and processes during EU accession talks, and these talks are an important opportunity to strengthen democracy in neighbouring countries.
- [ ] The “Brussels effect” that designates the influence of the EU on regulation in such areas as technology is also a reality with regard to democracy. All speakers agreed that the Shield must have a strong external dimension beyond its borders or immediate neighborhood, and it can only be effective inside if it addresses the democracy recession outside. However, this requires extensive resources .
- [ ] The EU can also learn much from neighboring and other countries, where democracy has been under attack or has long been seen as fragile, about ways to defend democratic values and processes .
- [ ] We must bring democracy at the heart of the EU security agenda.
Thank you to our host, the European Economic and Social Committee, and our co-organizers, International IDEA and the European Partnership for Democracy.
