We call for a European Centre for Democratic Resilience
Free Press Unlimited and partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) have called on the European Commission and EU Member States to ensure that the governance and operational structure of the new European Centre for Democratic Resilience (ECDR) is anchored in a genuine whole-of-society approach, stronger coordination across existing EU instruments, and robust safeguards for fundamental rights, media freedom and democratic pluralism. The ECDR should not just become another hub, but an effective EU coordination and exchange mechanism that seeks to protect democratic resilience holistically and is of added value to already existing initiatives.
The call follows the launch of the ECDR at the General Affairs Council on 24 February 2026. The creation of the Centre comes at a crucial time of rising geopolitical tensions, increasing authoritarian pressure, and sustained attempts to disrupt public debate across the European Union and in candidate countries. In its latest annual report on FIMI threats, the EEAS again warns about FIMI operations targeting the EU and partner countries, largely aimed at eroding trust, polarising societies and weakening democratic institutions.
With the ECDR as the “flagship initiative of the Democracy Shield”, the European Commission aims to respond to the external threats by strengthening democratic resilience, protecting public debate and building trust in democratic systems.The ECDR is intended to become a central hub for cooperation, information exchange and capacity building and whilst a necessary and timely initiative, it will only succeed if resilience places the protection of open debate, independent journalism and public trust at the core.
The ECDR must be structured in a way that creates meaningful exchange between EU institutions, Member States and independent non-institutional stakeholders. The proposed multistakeholder platform must not become a parallel or symbolic channel but allow for transparent, regular and formal exchange between policy-makers and non-institutional stakeholders, such as independent media, civil society organisations and other experts.
We also argue for consistent and coherent protection of democratic resilience across EU institutions. All relevant EU-instruments should be brought together under the umbrella of the ECDR to strengthen coordination and the ECDR should aim to connect and reinforce existing initiatives rather than duplicating them, such as national Centres on FIMI and disinformation. The ECDR should aim to support, inter alia, independent, evidence-based research andcross-border analysis. Additionally, we propose that there is a link to the work carried out by the ECDR to the systemic risk framework under the Digital Services Act.
In an increasingly polarised geopolitical environment, the EU needs a stronger collective response to ensure democratic resilience, which would strengthen media freedom, pluralism, civil society and the public’s right to access independent information.
Signed by:
- Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
- ARTICLE 19 Europe
- European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
- International Press Institute (IPI)
- Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
- European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
