In a thriving democracy, citizens are free to express their views and form their own opinions. They can participate in democratic life, choose their political representatives and have a say in their future, in a public space where different views can be expressed and diversity is embraced. In 2025, the European Union stepped up its work to strengthen democracy and its resilience to internal and external pressures. It also continued to empower citizens to participate actively in the democratic process and shape the policies that affect their lives and communities.

The European Democracy Shield

Building upon work already set out under the European Democracy Action Plan - open a new tab. and the defence of democracy package - open a new tab., the European Democracy Shield - open a new tab. was presented in November. It is set to strengthen European democracies and empower Europeans to exercise their rights, freely form and express their opinions and participate in the democratic life of the EU actively and safely. Its actions will strengthen democratic institutions, protect the integrity of elections and support media freedom and pluralism.

Acting as an operational hub for the new European Democracy Shield, a European Centre for Democratic Resilience is set to be established to anticipate and detect threats, issue early warnings and coordinate rapid responses. With Member States at its core, the centre will act as a framework to facilitate information sharing and build the capacity to withstand evolving common threats, in particular foreign information manipulation and interference, and disinformation.

In 2025, the Commission also pledged to step up its engagement with, protection of and support for civil society, recognising the important role it plays in strengthening democracies and building resilient societies. The new EU Strategy for Civil Society - open a new tab. has the following three main objectives.

Ensuring information integrity

New technologies have made it possible for hostile actors to operate and to spread disinformation at a scale and with a speed never seen before. Therefore, tackling foreign information manipulation and interference and enhancing societal resilience against these threats are pressing issues for the EU and its Member States.

The EU’s Code of Practice on Disinformation - open a new tab., established in 2018, is the world’s first voluntary self-regulatory instrument for online platforms and search engines. Since February 2025 it has been formally integrated - open a new tab. into the Digital Services Act’s co-regulatory framework as a code of conduct.

The European Digital Media Observatory - open a new tab. is an important pillar of the EU’s efforts to gain insights into Europe’s online information space and to strengthen societal resilience against disinformation. A new regional European Digital Media Observatory hub, called FACT - open a new tab., began its work in 2025 to support Moldova and Ukraine, among other countries, in fighting disinformation. As part of its mission, FACT also monitored the 2025 electoral period in Moldova, contributing to ensuring its electoral integrity.

Strengthening electoral rules

Facilitating electoral participation for all citizens is essential for guaranteeing a healthy democracy and building trust in the EU. This is why, in June, the EU adopted new rules - open a new tab. to strengthen the rights of mobile citizens to vote and to stand as candidates in European elections, regardless of where in the EU they live. Member States now have until June 2027 to transpose the rules into national law.

A key element of free and fair elections is that of the electorate’s unfettered access to information. The EU’s new rules on the transparency and targeting of political advertising - open a new tab., which have applied since October, ensure open debate, fair campaigns and free elections. They also support the accountability of political actors and the right of citizens to be informed. Under the rules, political adverts must be clearly labelled as such and must indicate who paid for them, how much they paid and whether they are targeted at a specific audience. This will allow citizens to identify political advertisements easily and make informed choices.

The 2025 rule of law report - open a new tab., which looks at the Member States and four candidate countries – Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – confirmed that there is a positive trajectory in many Member States, as important reforms have been undertaken. Challenges remain, however, and in a few cases the situation is serious. In the report, particular emphasis was placed on the Single Market dimension to help identify and address rule-of-law issues that have a direct impact on how companies invest, compete and grow in Europe. The 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard - open a new tab. presents new indicators relevant to the Single Market, highlighting the essential role of efficient and independent justice systems in fostering a fair and competitive market environment.

On a global scale, the EU remains a stronghold for free media, setting a standard for democracy. Yet, there are increasingly worrying trends that confirm the need for the EU to take stronger measures to protect this tenet of European democracy. To that end, most of the provisions of the European Media Freedom Act - open a new tab. started to apply as of 8 August. The rules aim to better protect media and journalists against political interference and to ensure that they can operate more easily across borders, without undue pressure. The new European Board for Media Services - open a new tab., established under the act, aims to strengthen cooperation at the EU level, including against foreign information manipulation and interference, and to promote the effective and consistent application of the EU media law framework.

EU support for free media

The key to a healthy democracy is empowered citizens. The EU is committed to listening closely to citizens and stakeholders and engendering public participation in the policymaking process. It achieves this through a number of initiatives, such as public consultations and feedback - open a new tab., the European Citizens’ Initiative - open a new tab. and the European Citizens’ Panels - open a new tab.. The latter, now a regular part of democratic life in the EU, bring together 150 randomly selected citizens from all 27 Member States to deliberate on critical long-term challenges and make recommendations to policymakers. During the year the EU also launched strategic dialogues with key industry sectors, creating an inclusive forum to address specific challenges.

2025 also saw the Commission follow up on the successful 2023 European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Stop finning – Stop the trade’, which called on the EU to take action to end the international trade in loose shark fins. As of January 2025, the EU had stepped up the monitoring of the shark-product trade thanks to 13 new tariff codes for sharks and their fins.

• 98 public consultations launched in 2025

  Feedback received on:

  • 201 calls for evidence documents,
  • 51 legislative proposals,
  • 224 draft implementing and delegated acts.

• 4 new European Citizens’ Initiatives launched

  • ‘HouseEurope! Power to Renovation’.
  • ‘Food is a Human Right for All! Guaranteeing healthy, just and sustainable food systems’.
  • ‘Save your right, save your flight!’
  • ‘Demand the full suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement in view of Israel’s violations of human rights’.

• 2 new citizens’ panels organised

  • The European Citizens’ Panel on the EU Budget.
  • The European Citizens’ Panel on Intergenerational Fairness.