During Ursula von der Leyen’s first term as President of the European Commission, remarkable strides were made within the sphere of democratic innovation and citizen participation. A hallmark of this effort was the Conference on the Future of Europe, followed by the continuation of European Citizen Panels and the release of the Defence of Democracy (DoD) Package, both reinforcing the EU’s commitment to strengthening democratic institutions.

In her address to the European Parliament before her confirmation in July 2024, von der Leyen proposed the creation of a European Democracy Shield,later integrated into the Mission Letters of Commissioner-designates Michael McGrath and Henna Virkunnen. This initiative aims to enhance the EU’s capacity to combat disinformation and malign influences from external actors, reflecting a proactive approach to safeguarding EU democracies.

While the Democracy Shield stands as a vital component of the EU’s ongoing efforts to promote resilience in democratic governance by addressing external threats, it must be balanced with ongoing initiatives to protect democracies internally. This aligns further with von der Leyen’s commitment to working closer to Europeans and engaging civil society to address growing disenchantment and disengagement within EU Member States.

Under the Chatham House Rule, this retreat co-organised by TEPSA and the Egmont Institute in the framework of Nets4Dem, will explore whether this Democracy Shield represents a continuation of the Commission’s work or if it introduces fresh initiatives. Despite a slight relief after the recent election results, internal pressures on democracy persist, and democratic innovations to increase resilience internally should not be sidelined. In that regard, the protection of democracies from external threats also passes by the reinforcement of democratic integrity within its own borders through democratic innovations. With these issues as a timely backdrop, this full-day retreat will explore how the new Commission can craft a compelling narrative in defence of democracy while ensuring that a diversity of voices, civil society, media and citizens are meaningfully involved.

Programme

9:30 – 10: 30: Registration and networking breakfast

10:30 – 12:15: Innovating democracy together: Strategies for the European Democracy Shield, moderated by Anthony Zacharzewski, Director (The Democratic Society)

12:15 – 13:00: Lunch break

13:00 – 16:20 Engaging voices: Working sessions with leading democracy NGOs and networks across Europe

• 13:00-14:30: Session 1, Strengthening European Democracy: Deliberation, Citizen Engagement and the Democracy Shield, The Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade
• 14:50-16:20: Parallel Session 2, Learning from Policy Challenges and Future Directions for embedding Democratic Innovations in Europ, DEMOS Helsinki
• 14:50-16:20: Parallel Session 3 Aligning capacity-building programmes to foster democratic innovation: Europe’s Path to a Democracy Shield, Coglobal, the Democratic Society and People Powered

16:20 – 16:30: Coffee Break

16:30 – 17:40: Charting the future: wrap-up discussions and exploring new avenues, moderated by Aleksandra Zitek, Project Coordinator (Eurocities)

18:00 – onwards: Walking drinks

This day-long retreat will bring together 40+ participants from policy circles, such as the European Commission, the Council, Members of Parliament, political parties and experts in democratic innovations and researchers from sister Horizon projects on democracy.

What is Nets4Dem?

Nets4Dem, a Horizon Europe project coordinated by Democracy Reporting International, endeavours to reshape the landscape of democracy initiatives. Nets4Dem brings together more than 200 cities, over 50 think tanks and universities, and dozens of democracy-focused NGOs, covering 38 European countries. Nets4Dem aims to enhance and transform the current landscape of democracy initiatives by creating a unique European network. This network facilitates high degrees of connectedness among policy-makers, practitioners, and researchers by providing improved access to cross-cutting work on democratic innovations. It further aims to weave networks spanning various sectors, geographies and levels of governance, thereby redistributing power and resources to those who stand to gain the most from initiatives aimed at engaging citizens in civic renewal. Learn more about this event and the project on Nets4Dem’s website.

Contact information

Should you have any questions about this event or future Nets4Dem activities, do not hesitate to contact Céleste Ricci, at c.ricci@egmontinstitute.be.