On 10 September, Renew Europe welcomed the proposal by Ursula von der Leyen on the creation of a European Centre for Democratic Resilience.
In her State of the European Union address, the European Commission President also committed to defending independent press through a new Media Resilience Programme supporting independent journalism and media literacy, with significantly boosted funding for media in the next budget.
However, the Group emphasizes these announcements remain insufficient given the Commission's persistent delays in presenting a comprehensive communication on establishing a European Democracy Shield, and urges the Commission to move beyond promises to concrete action.
The EU faces a growing number of cyberattacks, social media manipulation and disinformation campaigns that attempt to systematically undermine democratic foundations, polarise public opinion and erode institutional trust across Member States.
The mandate of the European Parliament Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield (EUDS) has been extended to ensure continued momentum on this critical initiative - now the Commission must match Parliament's commitment with decisive measures.
"The Democracy Shield initiative can provide the EU with much-needed resilience. The European Parliament has done extensive work to create a productive framework for the initiative. Unfortunately, the Commission's continued delay stalls progress. The Commission must urgently fulfil its obligations and publish the communication promptly,” said Renew Europe’s EUDS Coordinator Helmut Brandstätter MEP (NEOS, AT).
Photo: European Parliament / 2025