COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Protecting election integrity and promoting democratic participation
Date: 2021-11-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: EU national, European Parliament, European election, European electoral system, European party, advertising, democracy, election campaign publicity, foundation, party financing, right to vote

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.11.2021  COM(2021) 730 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Protecting election integrity and promoting democratic participation  
 
 
1.  Introduction 

In  a  healthy  and  thriving  democracy,  citizens  can  freely  express  their  views  and  inform 
themselves from transparent and pluralistic sources. They participate in the public debate and 
elections,  and  thus  can  effectively  determine  their  future.  These  hard-won  rights  form  the 
bedrock of any democracy and lie at the heart of the European Union. Democracy needs to be 
nurtured and protected.  Both the democratic system and the rights of individual voters face 
threats. These can range from opaque interference (domestic and foreign) and disinformation 
to practical obstacles that prevent, for example, EU citizens residing in different EU country 
than of their origin, from voting. 

In  the  past,  political  candidates  did  their  campaigning  mainly  through  door-to-door 
canvassing, meetings, as well as through the distribution of leaflets or by giving TV and radio 
interviews.  Clear  rules  ensured  accountability  and  transparency  in  political  advertising  at 
national  level.  For  example,  the  rules  on  radio  airtime  or  on  responsibility  for  printed 
material,  and  the  main  players,  notably  the  political  parties,  could  be  clearly  identified.  In 
addition, the political debate and the actors were essentially national in nature.  

The  digital  transition  has  changed  this  landscape.  It  has  offered  not  only  unprecedented 
means to reach out to people, including those residing abroad, but also to tailor messages to 
their personal  interests  and  to  advocate for ideas beyond  traditional boundaries.  The digital 
tools have also blurred the line between  genuine information and political campaigning and 
opened  the  door  for  new  intrusive  and  opaque  targeting  and  amplification  techniques  that 
influence  voters  in  a  covert  manner.  These  developments  reduce  individual’s  exposure  to  a 
plurality of views, fragment the democratic debate and increase the risk of manipulation. A 
range of new actors from online platforms, social media to data processing companies now 
play  an  important  role  in  political  campaigning.  These  developments  have  given  rise  to  a 
series  of  problems,  from  citizens’  data  being  misused  to  online  platforms  incapable  of  or 
unwilling  to  enforcing  policies  on  tackling  disinformation.  Those  offering  services  in  this 
challenging  environment  face  barriers,  including  legal  uncertainty.  Taking  into  account 
current  predictions  for  a  growing  market  for  online  political  advertising,  the  problems 
identified will only worsen over time if the situation remains unaddressed.     

The European Union together with its Member States have the responsibility to  protect and 
defend electoral and political rights of their citizens and bolster the principles of democratic 
debate,  by  providing  a  clear  and  predictable  legal  environment  for  these  activities.  They 
should  address  the  fragmented  and  outdated  regulation  of  the  democratic  debate.  This  is 
especially  important  since  a  lot  of  the  activity  and  many  of  the  challenges  faced  are 
increasingly of a cross-border nature.  

At  the  same  time,  the  European  Union  is  not  only  concerned  with  protecting  democracy 
within  its  borders  but  also  abroad,  through  its  external  action.  As  pressure  is  mounting  on 
democracy globally, the proposed package of measures is in synergy with the strong efforts 
led by the European Union externally.  It  can  contribute to  the European Union’s actions to 
protect,  inspire  and  support  democracies  around  the  world,  which  are  facing  common 
challenges and have a common interest in working together to address them. 

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Already  in  2018,  the  Commission  adopted  an  elections  package1,  including  a  series  of 
provisions  laying  out  measures  to  address  the  processing  of  personal  data  in  elections,  to 
spread  best  practices  on  preventing  disinformation  and  cyberattacks,  and  to  promote  online 
transparency  and  accountability  in  the  European  electoral  process,  as  well  as  to  enhance 
cooperation2. Rules for European political parties and foundations were also updated.  

Since then, the experience of the elections to the European Parliament of 2019, and national 
elections in the Member States, have shown that the manner in which political actors connect 
to  their  electorate  has  undergone  further  significant  changes.  The  political  debate  migrated 
even further  online  and  onto  social media.  Internet  platforms  play  a crucial  role in  the way 
citizens form, express and discuss their opinions.3 The adjustments required by the COVID-
19  pandemic  have  also  strengthened  these  trends  with  the  increased  use  of  online  services. 
These  changes  bring  new  opportunities  for  the  democratic  debate  to  thrive,  but  also  new 
threats to the democratic system4  and the internal market, also of a hybrid nature.  

While the measures proposed in 2018 are still pertinent, further reforms are needed. Some of 
those  measures  were  only  recommendations  and  have  not  been  consistently  implemented5. 
Evidence shows that the existing rules can be circumvented.  

During  the  elections  to  the  European  Parliament  of  2019,  European  political  parties 
encountered difficulties when trying to campaign across borders and the European Parliament 
has called for reform6. The swift move of the political debate to the online environment also 
stimulated  the  growth  of  the  market  for  online  political  advertising,  on  which  European 
political actors in Europe spent EUR 23 million in relation to the elections to the European 
Parliament of 20197. EU citizens have also faced obstacles in exercising their right to vote in 
other Member States in both elections to the European Parliament and municipal elections.  

With the digital transition under way, citizens, including the young generations, must be able 
to  distinguish  fact  from  fiction,  and  be  able  to  participate  in  open  debates,  free  from 
disinformation,  unlawful  interference,  intimidation  and  manipulation.  It  must  be  clear  for 
citizens that they are receiving political content and from whom. There should be meaningful 

1 Communication on Securing free and fair European elections A Contribution from the European Commission 
to the Leaders' meeting in Salzburg on 19-20 September 2018, COM(2018)637 
2  As  a  result,  the  European  Cooperation  Network  on  Elections  was  set  up  as  a  forum  where  Member  State 
administrations  responsible  for  elections  can  share  experiences  on  how  to  ensure  the  elections  are  free  of 
interference in their countries. 
3 For instance, recent statistics on news sources in European countries in 2020 show that TV and online sources 
(including social media) were the most popular news sources in all countries investigated 
https://www.statista.com/statistics/422687/news-sources-in-european-countries/  
4  For  instance,  during  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  a  huge  wave  of  disinformation  spread  online  –  see 
Communication on tackling COVID-19 disinformation.  
5 See the Report issued by the Commission on 19 June 2020 on the 2019 elections to the European Parliament 
COM(2020) 252 final. 
6 European Parliament resolution of 11 November 2021 on the application of Regulation  
on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (2021/2018(INI)) 
 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2021-0454_EN.pdf 
7 Figures vary according to sources. Ad Transparency Report (May 17, 2019). 
https://adtransparency.mozilla.org/eu/2019-05-17/eu/  

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transparency to allow for public scrutiny and accountability of relevant actors and reflect the 
inclusiveness and diversity of our societies. 

These  challenges  call  for  a  new  effort  to  strengthen  the  trust  in  our  democratic  systems. 
Protecting  free  and  fair  elections  is  a  political  priority  of  this  Commission.  The  European 
Democracy Action Plan (‘EDAP’) set out steps the Commission  plans to take to strengthen 
democracy8,  building  on  experience  from  the  2019  European  Parliament  elections  and 
drawing on the work of  the European Cooperation Network on Elections (‘EU Network on 
elections’)9, as well as on the EU Citizenship Report 202010. 

The  present  package  includes  a  proposal  for  a  Regulation  on  transparency  of  political 
advertising, two proposals recasting the Directives on the electoral rights, a proposal to recast 
the  Regulation  on  the  statute  and  funding  of  the  European  political  parties  and  European 
political foundations, and announces a joint mechanism for electoral resilience. 

2.  Transparency and targeting of political advertising  

Political advertising is a specific type of advertising. It consists of messages promoted by, for 
or on behalf of political actors or messages liable to influence the outcome of an election or 
referendum,  a  legislative  or  regulatory  process,  or  voting  behaviour.11  One  of  the  most 
essential principles of democracy is that such advertising should be transparent, i.e. citizens 
should know who is  standing behind  a political  advertisement and why it  was addressed to 
them. Such transparent  political  advertising makes it easier to  identify possible interference 
or manipulation of the political process. 

Transparency of political advertising has traditionally been regulated at Member State level 
to ensure fair and free democratic processes and to prevent interference.  National regulation 
imposes  obligations  on  providers  of  political  advertising  services,  to  ensure,  inter  alia, 
accountability and the overall organisation of a fair and open political process. These national 
rules  pursue  a  legitimate  public  interest  which  the  EU  fully  shares.  However,  national 
transparency rules that apply to service providers vary across the Member States as well as 
across the various media and focus mainly on traditional media. The legal fragmentation and 
the  difficulties  in  cross-border  enforcement  of  national  transparency  rules  are  likely  to 
increase in the future.  

8 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and 
Social committee and the Committee of the Regions on the European Democracy Action Plan, COM(2020) 790 
final. 
9 The ECNE brings together representatives of Member State authorities with competence in electoral matters, 
and allows for concrete and practical exchanges on a range of topics relevant to ensuring free and fair elections, 
including  data  protection,  cyber-security,  transparency  and  awareness  raising.  For  more  information,  see: 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/eu-citizenship/electoral-rights/european-
cooperation-network-elections_en  
10  Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
committee and the Committee of the Regions, EU Citizenship Report 2020 Empowering citizens and protecting 
their rights (COM(2020) 730 final).  
11  Messages  from  official  sources  regarding  the  organisation  of  and  terms  for  participating  in  the  elections  or 
promoting participation in the elections are not considered political advertising.  

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Traditional  rules  are  often  not  adapted  to  developments  in  technology  and  electoral 
campaigning,  and  can  in  some  cases  be  circumvented  due  to  the  borderless  nature  of  the 
online environment, as well as due to regulatory gaps. The increased use of digital advertising 
in  political  campaigning  and  the  cross-border  dimension  of  key  political  challenges  –  from 
climate  change  and  migration  to  the  handling  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  –  has  made  the 
associated problems even more acute. It is clear that the size and complexity of the political 
advertising  market,  estimated  in  the  EU  to  be  worth  over  EUR  100  million  in  2019,  is 
increasing both within and outside the EU. Heterogeneous regulation across Member States 
and  across  the  different  forms  of  media  (for  example,  different  rules  for  TV  and  radio,  ) 
affects companies operating in a cross-border context or offering advertising campaigns using 
multiple  media,  which  must  comply  with  multiple  and  often  unclear  transparency 
requirements that result in legal uncertainty and associated compliance costs.  

New  EU  legislation  is  needed  to  ensure  transparency  and  accountability,  and  that  relevant 
fundamental  rights  and  data  protection  principles,  such  as  purpose  limitation  and  data 
minimisation, are upheld effectively. 

Firstly,  the  proposed  rules  will  reconcile  the  legitimate  need  to  ensure  transparency  of 
political advertising services which are provided against remuneration, in order to protect and 
develop  the  EU  internal  market  in  compliance  with  fundamental  rights,  proportionality  and 
subsidiarity.  Their  objective  will  be  to  address  concerns  relating  to  the  concealment  and 
misrepresentation  of  key  information,  such  as  the  origin,  intent,  sources  and  funding  of 
political messages as well as the disclosure of the political nature of the message, which are 
necessary for making informed political decisions.12 The new rules would ensure that citizens 
will be able to clearly identify political advertisement. They will see the name of the sponsor 
prominently  displayed and  they  will  also  be  able  to  retrieve  from  a  transparency  notice  the 
amounts  spent  on  the  political  advertisement,  the  sources  of  the  funds  used  and  a  link 
between  the  advertisement  and  the  relevant  elections  or  referenda.13  The  Regulation  also 
captures the dynamic process of digital political advertising as, in the production chain of an 
advertisement, one or multiple service providers can manage these processes. 

Secondly,  the  proposed  Regulation  will  address  the  risks  emerging  from  the  use  of  certain 
targeting,  amplification  and  optimisation  techniques,  to  preserve  the  democratic  process, 
while  ensuring  a  high  level  of  data  protection.  Furthermore,  the  Regulation  will  ensure 
avoiding that the harmonised market for political advertising is fragmented anew by possible 
forthcoming  rules.  In  the  European  Democracy  Action  Plan,  the  Commission  presented  its 
first assessment of the challenges in relation to political advertising and issues linked to new 
techniques  used  to  target  advertising  based  on  users’  personal  data.  Such  targeting, 
amplification  and  optimisation  techniques  used  in  political  advertising  enable  political 

12  Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
committee and the Committee of the Regions, EU Citizenship Report 2020 Empowering citizens and protecting 
their rights (COM(2020) 730 final).  
13  The  measures  proposed  support  Member  States,  as  parties  to  the  UN  Convention  on  the  Rights  of  Persons 
with Disabilities to deliver on their obligation to guarantee  to persons  with disabilities political rights and the 
opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others. 

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advertisements to be tailored to an individual’s or a group’s specific profiles, often without 
their knowledge by relying for example, on behavioural profiling based on data. Regardless 
of whether the data was properly obtained or not, those techniques can be misused to exploit 
citizens’ vulnerabilities.  

Moreover,  EU  citizens  have  a  right  to  receive  objective,  open  and  pluralistic  information, 
which in turn is one of the prerequisites for a thriving democracy. That may be  affected by 
the use of targeting, amplification and optimisation techniques, since those techniques can be 
used to direct people towards certain content and render more difficult or less interesting for 
them  to  receive  or  look  for  messages  that,  in  a  democracy,  they  have  a  right  to  hear  and 
comment  on.  That  goes  against  the  principles  of  open  democratic  debates,  in  which  one  is 
confronted with a plurality of ideas (the ‘public square’). It also limits the ability of political 
actors to respond to messages, including to accusations, as part of that debate.  

Therefore,  the  proposed  Regulation  will  not  allow  using  such  targeting  and  amplification 
techniques  if  they  are  not  subject  to  meaningful  transparency  requirements.  It  will  also 
restrict  and  regulate  the  use  of  certain  kinds  of  sensitive  personal  data,  including  where 
processing  involves  grouping  people  according  to  protected  categories  of  interests,  such  as 
religion  or  sexual  orientation  or  according  to  assumed  interests.  It  will  further  empower 
individuals  to  determine  whether  and  how  they  are  targeted  by  political  advertising  and  to 
decide whether they want it or not. Furthermore, individuals will be able to obtain meaningful 
information on the reason why and the type of a targeting technique used, who was targeted 
and for which purpose (for example because they reside in a certain place and local elections 
are  coming),  the  sources  of  the  data  used,  as  well  as  the  size  of  the  target  audience. 
Furthermore, it will be possible to access a description of the steps taken to comply with the 
proposal’s requirements on targeting.  

The proposed Regulation builds on and complements relevant EU law, including the General 
Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) and the proposed Digital Services Act (‘DSA’), which, 
once  adopted,  will  lay  out  comprehensive  transparency,  accountability  and  systems  design 
rules for advertising on online platforms, also as regards political advertising.  The update of 
the  self-regulatory  Code  of  Practice  on  Disinformation,  based  on  the  recently  published 
Commission guidance14, will also complement the proposed Regulation.  

As  European  political  parties  sponsor  communication  campaigns  across  borders,  a  high 
standard  of  transparency  should  also  apply  to  this  campaigning,  to  promote  accountability. 
Specific  transparency  requirements  will  therefore  also  be  established  for  European  political 
parties making use of political advertising by amending (through the other initiative described 
in  Section 4 below)  the  Regulation  on the statute and funding of European political  parties 
and European political foundations.  

14 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and 
Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  Guidance  on  Strengthening  the  Code  of  Practice  on 
Disinformation (COM(2021) 262 final).   

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A  dedicated  repository  for  political  advertising  used  by  European  political  parties  will  be 
established to provide citizens with information about such advertisements, the money spent 
on  them,  as  well  as  the  target  demographic  of  a  given  advertisement.  European  political 
parties  will  also  ensure  that  their  political  advertising  practices  and  policies  are  made 
transparent directly on their websites. The proposed Regulation on the statute and funding of 
the European political parties and European political foundations will also frame the use of 
targeting techniques for European political parties. 

Given that establishing rules on national political parties is a national competence,  Member 
States are  invited to  ensure that the  transparency  standards  applicable to  European  political 
parties  also  apply  to  national  political  parties  and  that  they  follow  high  transparency 
requirements  when  making  use  of  political  advertising,  in  line  with  the  rules  applicable  to 
European  political  parties.  Mirroring  the  EU  transparency  requirements  would  greatly  help 
address the problems identified.  

Thanks to specific and targeted provisions proposed in the initiatives in the present package, 
political  advertising  service  providers  in  the  internal  market  will  be  able  to  exercise  their 
activity in an adequate, harmonized, clearer and more predictable legal environment. At the 
same time, EU citizens will be able to receive transparent political information, so that they 
will  be  better  placed  to  understand  the  stakes  and  nuances  of  political  discourse.  When 
adopted,  the  proposed  Regulation  on  the  transparency  and  targeting  of  political  advertising 
will contribute to the development of the internal market for services and allow EU citizens 
to  benefit from  a high standard of transparency  for political  advertising  in  compliance with 
the Union values.  

The  Commission  will  evaluate  the  application  of  the  new  requirements  on  transparency  of 
political advertising after the 2024 elections to the European Parliament. 

3.  Electoral rights of mobile EU citizens 

There are 13.5 million of EU citizens residing in a different Member state15 than the one of 
their  origin  –  mobile  EU  citizens.  Those  citizens  have  the  right  to  vote  and  stand  as 
candidates in elections to the European Parliament and municipal elections in their Member 
State  of  residence.  Yet,  their  turnout  is  frequently  lower  than  that  of  citizens  who  are 
nationals of the host Member State16.  

This is partly due to  complicated registration processes  in their Member State of residence. 
Mobile EU citizens do not always receive clear information on the elections in question, or 

15 According to Eurostat data, on 1 January 2020 there were 13.5 million EU citizens who enjoy their right to 
reside in another EU country. See Migration and migrant population statistics. 

16 See the Report issued by the Commission on 19 June 2020 on the 2019 elections to the European Parliament 
COM(2020) 252 final and report issued by the Commission on 25 January 2018 on the application of Directive 
94/80/EC on the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections COM(2018) 044 final.  

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they may receive the information in a language they do not master. There are also instances 
where  EU  citizens  who  register  for  elections  to  the  European  Parliament  or  municipal 
elections in one Member State risk being de-registered from the voting lists in their Member 
State of origin. All this makes it more difficult for mobile EU citizens to exercise their voting 
rights and thus undermines their democratic rights.  

Further, there are cases where EU citizens could vote twice for the same European Parliament 
election, once in their Member State of residence and another time in their Member State of 
origin (‘multiple voting’), which is illegal17.  

In  order  to  address  these  concerns,  the  Commission  is  proposing  to  update  the  relevant 
existing legal framework18 . As part of the legislative measures, the Commission is proposing 
that specific information be provided to mobile EU citizens on their electoral rights, including 
on the prohibition of multiple voting and its consequences. This should entail the provision of 
information  and  the  use  of  means  of  communication  adapted  to  specific  groups  of  voters, 
such as young voters.  In order to further reduce the possibility of multiple voting in the same 
election,  the  Commission  proposes  to  define  a  common  data  set  to  be  collected  and 
exchanged  between  Member  State  administrations.  At  the  same  time,  the  Commission 
suggests  prohibiting  deregistration  of  mobile  EU  citizens  from  other  elections  in  their 
Member State of origin solely on the basis of this exchange.  

The  Commission  also  proposes  to  introduce  standardised  templates  available  in  all  EU 
languages for registration as a voter or as a candidate, so that mobile EU citizens can easily 
register  in  their  Member  State  of  residence.  Member  States  will  be  asked  to  provide  EU 
mobile citizens with information in clear and plain language, in at least the official language 
or languages of the host Member State and in another official language of the Union that is 
broadly understood by the largest possible number of European Union citizens residing on its 
territory.  These  proposed  legislative  measures  will  improve  the  collection  of  data  for 
municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament.  

The Commission will also establish a contact point on electoral rights19 at Commission level 
to  further  connect  and  reinforce  the  European  Direct  Contact  Centre20  and  Your  Europe 

17 Prior to the last elections to the European Parliament, Member States exchanged data on around 1.3 million 
voters and 114 parliamentary candidates. This exchange resulted in the identification of over 213 000 multiple 
registrations of citizens. 
18 While the competences to organise elections in their respective territories (including for municipal elections) 
belongs to the Member States, the   legal framework for the exercise of electoral rights by mobile EU citizens 
involves  the  interaction  of  EU  and  national  rules.  This  is  addressed  in  Council  Directive  93/109/EC  of  6 
December 1993 laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate 
in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are 
not nationals and Council Directive 94/80/EC of 19 December 1994 laying down detailed arrangements for the 
exercise of the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in municipal elections by citizens of the Union residing 
in a Member State of which they are not nationals, hereby called ‘election directives’ 
19 The 2020 Citizenship Report refers to the possibility of creating a dedicated ‘shared resource’ to support EU 
citizens  in  exercising  their  electoral  rights.  The  contact  point  in  question  will  be  established  as  part  of  this 
commitment.   
20 https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en  

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Advice21. This will also help EU citizens and local authorities in finding solutions to relevant 
issues  during  the  period  when  EU  citizens  can  register  for  elections  to  the  European 
Parliament by ensuring easier access to information, better quality service and faster replies 
to mobile EU citizens’ inquiries. 

The current legal provisions allow Member States to reserve candidacy to some positions in 
municipal elections, such as  the office of elected head, deputy or member of the governing 
college of the executive of a basic local government unit to their own nationals only. Several 
Member  States  have  used  this  provision,  thus  restricting  the  possibilities  for  mobile  EU 
citizens to participate in the political life of the place where they live. The amended rules will 
require  Member  States  to  report  regularly  on  the  application  of  such  measures,  to  allow 
assessing  the  necessity  of  maintaining  them.  The  Commission  will  further  promote  the 
exchange of best practices on the matter in the framework of the EU Network on Elections to 
encourage Member States to consider whether equal access to such functions for municipal 
elections could be granted.  

In  addition,  targeted  funding  will  be  provided  within  the  Citizens,  Equality,  Rights  and 
Values programme to promote innovative democratic initiatives in support of the democratic 
participation of mobile EU citizens, particularly in the context of the May 2024 elections to 
the European Parliament. 

4.  Clearer rules on the funding of European political parties and foundations 

In accordance with Article 10(4) of the TEU, European political parties contribute to forming 
European political  awareness  and to  expressing the will of  citizens of the Union. European 
political foundations, underpin and complement the objectives of the European political party 
they  are  affiliated  with  by,  among  other  things,  contributing  to  the  debate  and  developing 
activities  on  European  public  policy  issues,  and  by  fostering  cooperation  to  promote 
democracy. 

The  Regulation  on  the  statute  and  funding  of  European  political  parties  and  European 
political foundations is a recent piece of legislation, only applied at the 2019 elections to the 
European  Parliament.  However,  the  European  Parliament’s  own  initiative  report  on  the 
application  of  Regulation  1141/201422  identified  a  number  of  loopholes  in  the  current 
regulatory framework that prevent European political parties and foundations from fulfilling 
their  mission  to  help  to  create  a  European  political  space.  The  Commission’s  evaluation 
report23 arrived to similar findings. Furthermore, since its entry into force, the Regulation has 
been modified twice and several references and provisions have become obsolete. 

21 https://europa.eu/youreurope/advice/index_en.htm  
22 European Parliament resolution of 11 November 2021 on the application of Regulation (on the statute and 
funding of European political parties and European political foundations, (2021/2018(INI)), available at 
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2021-0454_EN.html. 
23 Evaluation report pursuant to Article 38 of Regulation 1141/2014 on the statute and funding of the European 
political parties and European political foundations, COM (2021) 717 final. 

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The  Commission  is  therefore  putting  forward  a  proposal  to  recast  that  Regulation.  The 
substantial  changes  proposed  seek  to  introduce  robust  transparency  rules  –  on  political 
advertisement and on financing sources, in particular in relation to donations – and a stronger 
reference to Article 2 TEU values. The Commission’s proposal will also clarify that nothing 
should  prevent  European  political  parties  from  campaigning  cross-border  within  the  EU, 
which  is  central  to  their  role  and  will  facilitate  interactions  with  their  national  member 
parties.  It will foster a more balanced representation in political parties, contributing to the 
overall  policy  objective  of  increased  inclusiveness  and  diversity  in  the  democratic  debate. 
Finally, it will increase the financial viability of European political parties by limiting the co-
financing requirement, in particular during the year of elections to the European Parliament 
and cut excessive administrative burden. 

5.  Cooperation on electoral resilience 

Cooperation among Member States to ensure resilient electoral processes and mutual support 
to address threats is essential. As announced in the EDAP and in the EU Citizenship report 
2020, the Commission continues to use the EU Network on Elections to deliver on a number 
of its commitments, including: 

- 

- 

- 

- 

continuously facilitating and improving the ability of all EU citizens to exercise their 
voting  rights  including  by  supporting  the  exchange  of  best  practices  and  mutual 
assistance to ensure free and fair elections and establishing a joint electoral resilience 
mechanism; 
establishing common references on good practices for specific phases of the electoral 
cycle;  
establishing common references on data collection on the participation of mobile EU 
citizens in municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament; 
supporting  the  cooperation  between  EU  networks  and  international  organisations  to 
build capacity and exchange best practices in countering electoral threats and promote 
high international standards in the use of new technologies. 

Building  on  this  cooperation,  the  Commission  will  offer  to  the  Member  States  a  ‘joint 
mechanism for electoral resilience’ as of 2022. It will be organised and coordinated through 
the  EU  Network  on  Elections  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Network  and  Information 
Systems  (NIS)  Cooperation  Group  and  the  EU’s  Rapid  Alert  System.  The  mechanism’s 
primary  operational  focus  will  be  to  support  deployment  of  joint  expert  teams  and  expert 
exchanges with  the aim  of  building  resilient electoral  processes, in  particular in the area of 
online forensics, disinformation and cybersecurity of elections. Further types of actions could 
be gradually envisaged such as  common training sessions and  the  common development  of 
IT systems.  

The exchanges can take place across the EU and will involve experts from one Member State 
providing support on a location in another Member State. The participation of experts from 
the private sector, international organisations, civil society, academia or third countries could 
also be considered, as necessary.  

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While  the  formation,  tasks  and  deployment  of  expert  exchanges  would  be  triggered  at  the 
request  of  the  Member  States,  the  Commission  will  proactively  support  the  Member  States 
through structured planning activities within the EU Network on Elections. The aim will be 
to  identify  upcoming  elections  and  planned  procedural  changes,  consider  potential 
requirements  and  opportunities  for  cooperation  and  pooling  of  resources,  and  identify 
potential resources for the inclusion within the mechanism framework. 

A work stream  focusing on the  cyber security  of election technology under the auspices of 
the  Cooperation  Group  established  by  the  NIS  Directive24  will  continue  its  work  in  close 
consideration  with  the  EU  Network  on  Elections  in  order  to  share  experiences  and  provide 
guidance,  as  well  as  an  overview  of  tools,  techniques  and  protocols  to  detect,  prevent,  and 
mitigate cybersecurity threats to election processes. 

The  second  half  of  2023,  the  Commission  will  also  organize  an  elections  high-level  event 
bringing together various authorities related to elections to address the challenges addressed 
in the present package. 

The Commission will also assess whether a legislative proposal for the protection of electoral 
infrastructure as critical infrastructure could be considered.  

6.  Conclusions 

The delivery of the measures proposed in this package will provide the European Union with 
a  stronger  legislative  framework  to  take  up  the  challenges  facing  our  democracies  and 
elections,  in  full  respect  of  our  common  principles  and  values.  It  will  enable  voters  to 
exercise  their  democratic  rights  better,  including  to  pluralistic  and  transparent  information 
source,  European  parties  to  engage  in  more  effective  and  accountable  interaction  with  the 
public,  and  Member  States  and  the  European  Union  as  a  whole  to  uphold  a  democratic 
electoral process, free from interference and manipulation. 

The more integrated internal market for political advertising services must be reconciled with 
the  full  enjoyment  of  citizens’  democratic  rights.  Indeed,  the  establishment  of  a  well-
functioning  internal  market  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  pursuit  of  the  values  which  are 
common  to  the  Union  and  its  Member  States.  Developing  the  EU’s  internal  market  for 
political  advertising  services  and  defending  the  Union’s  values  constitute  two  sides  of  the 
same  coin.  The  success  of  this  not  only  depends  on  legislation,  but  also  on  its 
implementation, which will enable citizens to truly benefit to the fullest extent from the aim 
and spirit of the proposed measures. This goes for all the elements of this package. 

24 Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 concerning measures 
for a high common level of security of network and information systems across the Union 
OJ L 194, 19.7.2016, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32016L1148  

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The  Commission  looks  forward  to  the  further  engagement  of  the  European  Parliament  and 
the  Council  as  well  as  the  wide  circle  of  national  actors,  public  and  private,  beyond 
government  authorities,  in  order  to  ensure  that  the  set  of  measures  presented  in  this 
Communication  is  adopted  and  implemented  in  time  for  the  elections  to  the  European 
Parliament in 2024. 

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