Speaking during Tuesday’s plenary debate on the findings and recommendations of the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield, ECR MEP and Shadow Rapporteur Beata Szydło warned that the efforts to protect European democracy must not become a pretext for restricting democratic choices, expanding EU powers or interfering in the political processes of Member States.

Szydło stressed that her Group recognises the serious threats posed by foreign interference, particularly from Russia and Belarus, but cannot support the report in its current form.

“I would like to support this report because it contains several positive elements in terms of tackling foreign interference in democratic processes, particularly from Russia and Belarus. However, I cannot support it. We have experienced such mechanisms in Europe before, which did very little to support democratic values while claiming to do wonderful things,’ said Szydło.

She warned that turning the voluntary European Centre for Democratic Resilience into a permanent EU body with its own staff, budget, monitoring functions and crisis-response powers risks creating a problematic role for the EU in national electoral processes, while lacking a clear Treaty basis.

The ECR MEP questioned who would ensure that those tasked with protecting democracy would themselves respect democratic processes, pointing to previous experiences with EU mechanisms.

“We have to fight the enemy, but the answer to attacks from the outside is not interference from within. Democracy will not be protected by limiting democratic choices, so the ECR Group will not be able to support this report,” Szydło said.

For the ECR Group, Europe must defend its democracies against Russian and Chinese interference, cyberattacks, espionage and sabotage while ensuring that fundamental freedoms, national sovereignty and democratic accountability remain firmly protected. Protecting democracy must never come at the expense of freedom of expression, national competences or the democratic choices of European citizens.