The  EU democracy shield

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The special committee on the European democracy shield has been established to create a more resilient EU, capable of defending its democratic processes from a wide range of hybrid threats. By focusing on threats - disinformation, cyberattacks, foreign information manipulation and interference, attacks on critical infrastructure, among others - and the EU’s response to them, the committee aims to safeguard democracy within and outside the EU in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape.

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The Diderot Committee took the initiative of proposing this note to the Committee to draw its attention to the poor implementation of European sanctions against Russian media by European operators (satellite operators, internet service providers, search tools, and social networks).

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The report contains various examples of circumvention of sanctions, as well as the responses given by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Mrs. Hanna Virkunnen, and by Mr. Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defense and Space, to a letter warning of the French authorities' inaction. Also included is a response letter from the French internet service provider Free/Group Ilaid confirming that the French regulatory authority, Arcom, has not issued instructions on which sites to ban.

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Most of the examples cited in the report concern France, but according to our information, the situation is quite similar in most European states, where internet operators have not received instructions on how to interpret the sanctions.

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The report contains various recommendations addressed to Members of the European Parliament, as well as a list of possible extensions of the sanctions that could be imposed by the European institutions.

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The Committee will meet in Brussels from May 19 to 21, 2025.

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