Patriots for Europe on the Commission’s EUDS Proposal: A Misguided Step Toward Centralization, Not Democratic Resilience

Brussels, 12/11/2025 - The Patriots for Europe acknowledge the urgent need for a coordinated and comprehensive strategy to address the multiple sources of interference threatening the integrity of democratic processes across Europe. This includes not only external actors seeking to influence elections, economic stability, and critical infrastructure, but also internal dynamics that undermine democratic pluralism — including actions by the European Commission itself, which too often works against diversity of opinion and genuine political debate.

However, the legislative and policy packages recently put forward by the Commission in its communication titled “European Democracy Shield: Empowering Strong and Resilient Democracies” appear fundamentally misaligned with the very objectives they claim to pursue. By presuming that European citizens are incapable of forming independent judgments, these initiatives risk opening the door to political interference in the media, broadcasting, and electoral systems of Member States. Rather than strengthening democracy, such measures threaten to erode it from within.

Equally concerning is the Commission’s failure to confront systemic issues such as corruption and the lack of transparency within the European Union’s own structures. By neglecting these key areas, the Commission is exacerbating the very vulnerabilities it is claiming to address.

The Patriots for Europe therefore maintain that the Commission’s portrayal of certain external actors as a convenient scapegoat has diverted attention from genuine sources of interference and from the urgent need to safeguard democratic sovereignty. Instead of promoting unity and resilience, the Commission’s current approach advances centralization and censorship — developments that are incompatible with the foundational principles of a free and democratic Europe.