Source: European Parliament
As enshrined in Articles 2 and 10 of the Treaty on European Union, democracy is a founding value on which the EU is built. Free and fair elections are at the core of democracy.
Their conduct and organisation are the competence and responsibility of the Member States, in accordance with their constitutional and legislative rules, subject to EU law and their international obligations.
National competent authorities and courts have the primary responsibility of ensuring compliance with these rules, as well as of protecting the fairness and integrity of the electoral processes. Experience shows how close coordination and cooperation at national and EU level can make a key contribution in this respect.
The value of close cooperation in safeguarding free and fair elections in the European Union has been acknowledged also by the Council[1], which called, among other things, on the comprehensive use of all established mechanisms, networks and tools in order to ensure such cooperation and support the integrity of democratic processes, including elections.
The Commission plays a supporting role in this area, facilitating coordination and cooperation among relevant authorities, in different frameworks, such as the European Cooperation Network on Elections, the Rapid Alert System and the cybersecurity coordination networks.
As guardian of the Treaties, the Commission is also responsible for ensuring the correct application of EU electoral law and other pieces of EU legislation, relevant in the context of elections, such as the regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act) and the regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising.
- [1] Council conclusions on democratic resilience: safeguarding electoral processes from foreign interference approved on 21 May 2024 (https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10119-2024-INIT/en/pdf); Council conclusions on strengthening EU democratic resilience approved on 27 May 2025 (https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9463-2025-INIT/en/pdf).