Author: Lucie Sýkorová, HlidaciPes.org
The newly formed European Democracy Shield (EUDS) committee met in the European Parliament this week. It wants to focus on foreign interference, cyber threats, and the fight against disinformation. Support for independent media should also be included.
“We want to develop specific proposals on how the European Union should combat disinformation, third-country interference in EU affairs, and cyberattacks. A document should be drawn up, which the European Parliament will submit to the Commission and Member States, and I firmly believe that at the next summit, based on this document, a strategy for strengthening European democracy will be developed,” Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský, who is the deputy coordinator of the committee for the People’s Party (EPP) faction, told HlídacíPes.org.
The committee has a total of 33 members. Its chair is French MEP Nathalie Loiseau from the Renew faction. Another Czech member of the committee is Jaroslav Bžoch (Patriots), and Markéta Gregorová from the Greens/European Free Alliance is also a member of the committee as a substitute.
In view of foreign interference in elections, particularly by Russia but also China, representatives of the European Parliament want to go on a monitoring mission to Taiwan, Romania, and Moldova.
“States should be able to intervene if, for example, troll farms are deliberately influencing elections. Furthermore, there should be greater exchange of information, especially regarding cyber threats. This certainly includes support for independent media and media literacy. The possible blocking of disinformation websites remains a debatable issue,” says Zdechovský.
The committee should deliver its final report by the plenary session in July at the latest. According to Markéta Gregorová, the report should also address the media. “It is necessary to maintain the independence of the media, to protect and support them. This is an extremely important element,” she states.
However, she believes that the new committee will not be preparing any new legislation in this area. “The Media Freedom Act, which was passed in the previous term, was already sufficiently comprehensive in this regard and, in my view, sets at least some direction for protecting media independence,” she says.
Media on the brink of extinction
The initiative called the European Democracy Shield was already mentioned during her election campaign last year by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At the time, she promised that if re-elected, she would make the issue one of her priorities.
She spoke of “creating new joint capacities at the European level,” similar to, for example, the French agency against foreign interference online, VIGINUM.
“It should be an ambitious European project that focuses on the biggest threats from foreign interference and manipulation,” she said.
She also mentioned the European Democracy Shield in the European Commission’s political guidelines for 2024-2029, stating that the goal is to “counter foreign manipulation of information and online interference by strengthening media literacy, creating a European network of fact-checkers, and enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA).”
On March 25, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), together with 49 other organizations, published a letter calling on the European Commission to consider strengthening and supporting independent media in its proposal.
“A robust media sector working in the public interest is one of the strongest safeguards against the harmful effects of disinformation and polarization,” the appeal states.
The organizations also point out in the letter that states and European institutions should also pay attention to domestic disinformation.
“The fight against disinformation is a necessary and inevitable part of supporting democracy. While the emphasis has often been on foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), equal importance should be given to combating domestic disinformation, which constitutes a significant part of disinformation operations. However, the fight against disinformation must not come at the expense of independent journalism.”
The letter goes on to note that the space for free media in Europe is under threat. “Journalists face harassment, intimidation, and attacks for simply doing their job. The sector also faces long-term financial challenges. This is compounded by the advertising industry’s preference for large online platforms, which has led to an estimated 50 to 70 percent decline in advertising revenue for publishers. Many independent media outlets face an existential threat. It is therefore important that the EU allocate sufficient resources to enable the independent media sector to remain viable and counteract disinformation narratives.”
In this context, the letter points out that the current EU multiannual financial framework for media, which is part of the Creative Europe program for 2021-2027, includes €1.42 billion, while Russia has invested a similar amount in media in 2021 alone.
Create a permanent support program
The European Parliament’s Committee on the European Democracy Shield is intended to build on the work of the special committees on foreign interference that operated in the European Parliament during the previous legislative term. Gregorová and Zdechovský were members or alternates.
The final report of the original committee, published in May 2023, shows that MEPs recognize the role of independent media in protecting democracy and combating disinformation, and were already aware at that time of the threats facing the media and journalists, among other things.
The committee’s report directly called for investigative journalists and civil society organizations to be “provided with sufficient and sustainable funding in a clear and transparent manner, commensurate with their efforts to raise awareness, expose attempts to interfere with democratic processes, and neutralize their impact.” The report also called for the creation of a permanent EU program for news media and magazines.
It stressed that it is essential that “whistleblowers, journalists, and other media professionals are provided with the necessary conditions to contribute to open, free, impartial, and fair public debate, which is fundamental to democracy and a key aspect of helping society combat disinformation, manipulation of information, and interference.”
