Selim Ibraimi- Since the US has been at the forefront of democracy for more than half a century, the arrival of President Donald Trump in January 2025 has led to significant changes. Other countries in Western civilization, especially EU countries, have taken the lead in democracy by promoting new initiatives in the field of democracy and sustainability. The EU’s efforts in this direction are not just empty actions. Europe is the birthplace of democracy, which other countries can take as an example.
The decline of the US in leading other democracies has prompted the EU to take more initiatives to protect old and new democracies, especially in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and, of course, in EU countries, which are a basic model for other countries. The EU’s latest initiatives will make Europe stronger and more capable of defending its values and norms.
The EU’s post-Cold War project, as we all know, was the accession of the former communist Eastern bloc, the accession of the Balkans to the EU, a single currency, a common economic market, common policies in diplomacy and defence, and much more. The EU’s task of framing the former communist bloc has not been easy.
EU countries have helped the new democracies, with clarity and political support, to stand and fight until now, in an era when Russia has overturned the norms in the last decade, and the US has shown signs of decline and lack of interest in leading global democracy. But in these difficult times, the EU has shown itself as an undisputed leader in democratic sustainability. Recently, the European Commission (EC) presented the “European Democracy Shield” initiative, setting out a series of concrete measures to strengthen, protect, and promote strong and resilient democracies across the EU and abroad.
The “European Democracy Shield” and the “EU Strategy for Civil Society” present measures to protect the main pillars of democratic systems, starting from free elections, free and independent media, civil society, and strong democratic institutions. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after promoting the idea, said: “Democracy is the foundation of freedom, prosperity, and security.
The “European Democracy Shield” initiative will strengthen the key elements that allow citizens to live our common democratic values every day, starting from freedom of speech, independent media, and resilient institutions. This is the strength of Europe, and we must increase our collective capacity to protect it at all times.” But what exactly is the “European Democracy Shield”? The “European Democracy Shield” aims to increase the overall capacity of states to combat information manipulation and disinformation, and to strengthen democratic resilience through a proactive approach.
According to the EC announcement, the “European Democracy Shield” is based on three basic pillars: protecting the integrity of the information space; strengthening institutions (fair and free elections, free and independent media); and increasing social resilience. In this regard, it is envisaged to build an institution for this purpose called the “Centre for Democratic Resilience”, which together with the “Centre against Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference” (FIMI), will bring together the experiences and resources of the EU and the Member States to increase the overall capacity of the Member States to anticipate, detect and react promptly to threats.
In parallel, countries should start focusing on strengthening democratic resistance to external factors with malicious intent. According to the EC, the center will act as a framework to facilitate information sharing and to support capacity building to confront emerging threats. FIMI, according to the EC, will be in coordination with the “Rapid Alert System” run by the “European External Action Service” (EEAS).
As can be seen, the EU is active in the field of democratic strengthening, and it will certainly succeed despite the American departure from the protection of democracy. The EU, with its recent actions, has finally filled the American vacuum, taking steps to protect the information space from external actors who aim to spread disinformation and disrupt the internal democratic environment in EU member states and aspiring ones.
The US has dismantled several centers against disinformation within the US State Department, and has also suspended the activity of several media outlets funded by Congress, such as the Voice of America (VOA), etc. In this regard, the EU has great potential to fulfill the objectives set long ago. In addition to the strong networks created in the EU to combat disinformation, the EU has pledged to soon launch the “Observation European Digital Media Monitor” that will aim to monitor situations in times of crisis.
Furthermore, strengthening institutions, media, and civil society remains the main priority of the EU. All these EU initiatives aim to maintain the trust of European citizens in institutions by making information coming from other sources, as a result of new technologies, distinct. As for the Balkans, in this area, Brussels is doing a lot with the “Growth Plan”, the “Berlin Process”, the “Enlargement Plan” with new members, financial aid, programs intended for a healthy ecological system, the media, strengthening civil society, etc., etc.
However, democratic development seems to be hindered by some countries in the Balkan region themselves, which do not want to meet the EU conditions to become sustainable democracies. In this group, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Republika Srpska are seen as special, finding new justifications for do nothing, and asking for more funds from the EU. In such a situation, democracy will only be in the speeches of leaders, understood differently in the EU and in the candidate countries.
Finally, the EU has allocated a budget of 10-12 billion euros for democratic development for the period (2021-27), an amount that is distributed by “NDICI-Global Europe” in cooperation with “IPA-III” for the candidate countries. Although critics have expressed disagreement with the EU’s enlargement policy and the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, the EU is still a leader in geopolitical, economic, and of course, democratic aspects. As Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief diplomat, said, someone has to take the lead, and the EU is ready to take on the mission of developing a sustainable democracy and much more.
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