The European Commission has published its consultation on the Defense of Democracy package, aiming to bring legislative and non-legislative measures to strengthen resilience to covert foreign interference and encourage civic engagement in the European democracies. As part of the package, the Commission plans to introduce a directive for “common transparency and accountability standards for interest representation services directed or paid for from outside the EU”. While the European Civic Forum welcomes the aim of the package to protect democracy and welcomes the recognition of CS role in enhancing democratic resilience, it argues that the framing of the package it is a concern as it fails to address the root causes of democratic challenges. It further reflects that the package primarily addresses the hidden foreign interference, overlooking other crucial factors contributing to the weakening of democratic institutions and processes. Read more here.
Source: European Civic Forum
