European Economic
and Social Committee
Mind the gaps: completing the European Democracy Shield
Draft agenda
09:30 | Welcome and introduction to the day
- EPD, Democracy International, Culture Action Europe
09:35 | Setting the scene: The European Democracy Shield
- Christian Moos, Divisional Director (European and International Affairs), EESC
09:45 | Breakout groups
Group 1: Citizen participation
Daniela Vancic, Democracy International
The European Democracy Shield should shield and strike, and that’s why citizens’ participation must be built in from the start. We will focus on how citizens participation can be meaningfully embedded in the European Democracy Shield, especially in areas still under development such as the Democracy Guide for Citizens, the European Citizens’ Panel on Democratic Resilience, and the European Citizens’ Initiative.
Context setting: How do we enable citizens not just to understand democracy, but to actively use and strengthen democratic tools?
Mapping: How do we understand the EU’s participatory toolbox as a system? Which citizen participation instruments already exist at EU level, where are the synergies, and how can they work together as a coherent democratic ecosystem rather than isolated tools?
Zooming in: What should the European Citizens’ Panel on Democratic Resilience focus on? How should follow-up and political uptake be designed?
Zooming out: How do we ensure European participation reaches beyond Brussels and works in local, low-trust contexts? What does this imply for implementation under the Democracy Shield?
Group 2: Information integrity
Emma Quaedvlieg, European Partnership for Democracy
One of the central proposals of the European Democracy Shield is the creation of the Centre for Democratic Resilience. The Centre is envisioned to be a coordinating body to enhance the work done across the EU, particularly in the area of countering disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI). This discussion will explore how the Centre can employ a holistic approach to the issue to ensure that it connects to a broad range of democracy support issues.
How can civil society best contribute to the establishment and work of the Centre?
How can the Centre’s stakeholder platform become a useful vehicle for cooperation with civil society and other actors?
How can the Centre ensure mutual learning opportunities on countering disinformation and FIMIwith EU candidate countries?
How do we ensure democracy support is mainstreamed beyond the Centre?
Group 3: Societal Resilience
Rhys Nugent, Culture Action Europe
Foreign Information Manipulation and Information (FIMI) and disinformation undermine citizens’ rights, democratic institutions, and social cohesion. Two of the actions in the European Democracy Shield addressing these threats are the development of a Blueprint for countering FIMI and Disinformation, and the creation of guidelines for teachers and educators to strengthen civic competences. This breakout room will discuss relevant challenges in this area before co-creating recommendations through a rights-based approach. Particular attention will be given to the role of critical-thinking skills, culture, and digital and media literacy to strengthen social cohesion and societal resilience. Guiding questions for discussions include:
Which rights are undermined by FIMI and disinformation?
How does culture strengthen societal resilience?
How can we foster greater critical-thinking and digital/media literacy skills, including in schools?
10:45 | End of breakout groups and reporting out (3 minutes per group)
10:55 | Vote on the picture for the session
11: 00 | End of session
Democratic safeguarding look like in practice? In this hands-on workshop hosted by European Partnership for Democracy and Democracy International, What does we will be zooming in on key components of the Shield that are still to be defined. Join us to co-create priorities that can guide the Shield’s implementation in 2026 and beyond.
This is a session focused on the European Democracy Shield that uses the occasion to actively shape and influence the parts of the Shield that are still under development.
As several elements are still “in the pipeline”, for example the Democracy Guide for Citizens or the European Citizens' Panel on Democratic Resilience, our goal would be to zoom in on these open areas in breakout groups and co-create priorities that could guide implementation in 2026 and beyond. We are aiming for a highly interactive, forward-looking, agenda-setting workshop.