The new European Centre for Democratic Resilience starts its work
At today’s meeting of the General Affairs Council, EU Ministers were invited by the Commission and the Council Presidency to mark the start of the work of the European Centre for Democratic Resilience. The aim of the Centre, a flagship initiative of the European Democracy Shield, is to facilitate a consolidated approach involving all of society to increase awareness and boost the capacity to respond to the threats faced by democracies today, and build democratic resilience.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “In a world where information is increasingly weaponised to undermine our democracies, we are taking action. With the European Centre for Democratic Resilience, we will level up our collective capacity to counter foreign information manipulation and disinformation. This will strengthen our resilience, ensure Europe’s public debate remains open and fair, and empower citizens to participate in democratic life.”
Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, will discuss with EU Ministers how the Centre can facilitate the sharing of expertise and experience and support the development of effective responses to common threats, to deliver tangible results for our citizens. The interest shown by all Member States in the setting up of the Centre demonstrates that the initiative responds to a clear need and it will be rolled out in a flexible way, with practical capacity-building projects that reflect Member States priorities. The Centre will help avoid the fragmentation of existing efforts, connecting existing networks and structures which already work on the prevention, detection, analysis and response options to patterns of threats in the information space helping each one deliver to their full potential and avoiding duplication.
With the launch of the European Centre for Democratic Resilience, we take a further step to reinforce democratic resilience, protect the integrity of public debate and strengthen trust in Europe’s democratic systems.
