Following today’s vote in the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield, ECR Shadow Rapporteur Beata Szydło stressed that foreign interference, disinformation and hybrid threats must be taken seriously, while warning against approaches that could gradually centralise sensitive democracy policy at EU level.

“If this develops into a supervisory role for the Commission, the remedy could, in the long run, become more dangerous than the disease itself. Elections, political debate, media pluralism and democratic accountability must remain firmly anchored in the Member States,” Szydlo said. “Foreign interference, disinformation and hybrid threats are real. Russia, China and other hostile actors are trying to weaken our societies, and Europe must take this seriously. However, I remain sceptical of an approach that risks giving the Commission a growing role in such a sensitive field,” Szydlo added.

“Cooperation between Member States is necessary, but it must support national democracies, not gradually replace their responsibility with new Brussels structures. A European Democracy Shield must protect pluralism and freedom of expression, not create new institutional risks in the name of defending democracy,” she concluded.

For the ECR Group, democratic resilience must go hand in hand with national responsibility, political pluralism and respect for freedom of expression.