Eng. Anelia Dimova, Information Society Policy Expert
On 12 November 2025, the European Commission (Commission) published a Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions on the European Democracy Shield (EUDS).
While legally non-binding, the Strategy Paper sets out, amongst a series of voluntary measures for various stakeholders, potential outlines for the enforcement and revision of existing legislative acts in addition to the revisions planned with the Digital Omnibus. It aims to strengthen EU democracies and empower Europeans to exercise their rights, freely form and express opinions, and participate actively and safely in the Union democratic life.
The Commission points out that the “deep digital transformation of society” has opened new opportunities for participation and information access, but it has also created vulnerabilities.
The EUDS draws attention to a wide range of existing laws and regulations. As a result, it is anticipated that these legal frameworks will be invoked more frequently and receive heightened scrutiny going forward.
The Commission is proposing to establish a European Centre for Democratic Resilience (Centre), to bring together the efforts and expertise of Member States, candidate countries and EU institutions that are currently dispersed.
To safeguard the integrity of the information space, the Commission is proposing concrete actions and measures targeting, inter alia, providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs under the Digital Services Act (DSA). These are to supplement existing legal frameworks, such as the transparency and deepfake labelling obligations for certain AI systems under the AI Act, and the systemic-risk assessment and mitigation obligations (Art. 34, 35 DSA), as well as requirements for the transparency of recommender systems (Art. 27, 38 DSA) and mechanisms for data access and scrutiny by researchers and authorities (Art. 40 DSA) under the DSA.
With the goal to strengthen free and independent media as a cornerstone of democratic societies, the Commission intends to reinforce existing regulations. This includes backing Member States in implementing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), offering guidelines, and ensuring compliance.
Regarding the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Commission intends to include amongst its priorities enforcement actions that promote an independent and diverse media landscape, including by increasing the transparency of online advertising.
Other measures envisioned by the Commission include, e.g., the launch of a Media Resilience Programme for independent journalism and media literacy, and the support of independent media beyond EU borders. The Commission will also assess ways to strengthen media services and modernize advertising rules to support EU media in the upcoming review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.
Finally, it is also worth noting that strategic planning documents like the EUDS often provide an initial outlook or set the direction for further regulation that can be expected at the European level.
Sources:
https://nm20.abv.bg/Mail.html#message:fid/10:pid/0:mid/17403846309:tid/60:r/0