The European Democracy Shield: A Facade for Control, Not Protection, By Richard Miller (Londonistan)

I'm reading about this thing called the European Democracy Shield, sounds good, right? Like Captain America, or Captain Euro, protecting Europe from bad guys. It's this big plan from Ursula von der Leyen, the EU's top dog, rolled out at some fancy policy shindig on December 6, 2024. They're saying it's all about fighting "foreign disinformation" and saving democracy with stuff like media literacy and cracking down on shady tech. I mean, who doesn't want to stop Russian trolls or Chinese hackers? But the more I dig into it, the more it feels like a slick excuse for the EU to clamp down on free speech and keep their buddies in charge. Honestly, it's giving me major "wolf in sheep's clothing" vibes, and I'm not here for it.

The EDS is supposed to be this grand defence against fake news and foreign meddling. Von der Leyen's team says it'll beef up laws like the Digital Services Act and AI Act, teach people to spot BS online, and make elections and courts bulletproof. They're even pushing it beyond the EU's 27 countries to places trying to join, like throwing in cyberattack protection and banning sketchy foreign cash. Sounds great, right? Nobody wants Xi's bots messing with votes. But here's the thing: it's all so vague. What counts as "disinformation"? Who decides? The EU's not exactly famous for playing fair, and this whole setup smells like they're gearing up to control what we say and think, all while waving the democracy flag.

First off, the EDS is like a blank check for power. Words like "information manipulation" are so fuzzy, anyone in charge can twist them to mean whatever they want. At that December event, some EU official named Věra Moozová was hyping up how they'll regulate tech algorithms and "promote independent journalism." Great, but who picks what's "independent"? The EU's already got a bad reputation for playing favourites. I saw a report from 2024 saying 80% of their Digital Services Act crackdowns hit conservative posts—80%! That's not random; that's targeting. Now they want to run "fact-checking" and "media literacy" programs? Those are often just code for "we'll tell you what's true." And get this, some folks are pointing out that groups tied to George Soros, like Alliance4Europe, are in on this. Soros has been bankrolling progressive stuff forever, so how's that impartial?

Then there's the tech angle. The EU's all about sticking it to Meta and Google, which, sure, they're not saints. But the fix? Funnelling money to "approved" journalists and media. That's a recipe for picking winners and losers. If you're a blogger or a small outlet calling out Brussels, good luck getting a dime. They're also setting up this European Cooperation Network on Elections to "coordinate" with member states and wannabe EU countries. Sounds like a power grab to me, like Brussels wants to call the shots on how countries run their votes. For places like Serbia or Hungary, this could mean "play by our rules or else." It's less about democracy and more about making everyone toe the EU line.

Here's what really gets me: this whole thing's being cooked up behind closed doors. That December meeting had a hundred bigwigs, academics, media types, NGOs, but regular people? Not invited. There's a report coming on the 2024 EU elections that'll shape the EDS, but it's written by unelected suits, not voters. Some lawmakers, per Euronews in February 2025, were upset about a liberal MEP, Nathalie Loiseau, getting picked to chair the EDS committee. They called it a "backroom deal," and I don't blame them. The EU's always been shady about who calls the shots, and this just screams more of the same. If you're trying to "save democracy," why's it all so secretive? It's like they're building a clubhouse and only their friends get the password.

Now, I'm not one for tinfoil hats, but the Soros thing keeps popping up. His Open Society Foundations have poured billions, $32 billion since 1979, into groups pushing EU-friendly causes. X posts mentioned outfits like Alliance4Europe, which got Soros cash, being linked to EDS talks. It's not like he's personally running the show, but his fingerprints are on a lot of these "democracy" projects. The guy's all about "open societies," which sounds nice until you realise it often means globalist stuff that drowns out anyone who disagrees. When I see his name tied to something like the EDS, it makes me wonder who this shield's really protecting, regular folks or the elite crew in Brussels?

The EDS isn't just about EU countries, it's got big plans, like "securing democracy" in places trying to join the club. That sounds like a sneaky way to push EU rules on countries that might not want them. The Naked Emperor's Newsletter nailed it, saying this could force places like Hungary to fall in line or get labelled as "foreign puppets." I saw something similar in Greece, where the EU's fine with sketchy stuff like shutting down free press as long as the government's on their team. The EDS talks a big game about fighting Russian or Chinese disinformation, but it feels like a cover to go after anyone who doesn't vibe with Brussels, inside or outside the EU.

The EDS leans on laws like the Digital Services Act and AI Act, which already give the EU way too much power to police online stuff. The AI Act's got rules for "high-risk" systems, like election tech, but there's no solid guardrail to stop abuse. The Defence of Democracy Package sounds nice, but it's just a bunch of suggestions that dodge the EU's own problems, like barely half the people voting in 2019. Instead of fixing that, they're pointing fingers at "foreign bad guys." It's a classic dodge, and I'm not buying it. If they really cared about democracy, they'd ask why so many Europeans don't trust them, not build some fancy shield to control the narrative.

I understand why some people think the EDS is needed. There's real rot out there, like that 2024 Voice of Europe propaganda mess or hackers hitting German Chancellor Scholz's emails. Nobody's saying disinformation's fake. But you don't fix it with a sledgehammer that can smash free speech too. The EU's already flubbed stuff like the Cambridge Analytica mess in 2019, so why trust them to play referee now? The real problem's closer to home, shady elites, tech giants, and voters who feel ignored. The EDS feels like a distraction, letting the EU tighten the screws while pretending it's all about saving us.

While the European Democracy Shield sounds good on paper, but it's a trap. It's not about protecting the right to speak or vote, it's about giving Brussels a shiny new tool to shut down anyone who disagrees, all while acting like they're the heroes. With vague rules, secret meetings, and ties to big players like Soros, this thing's built to keep the EU's inner circle in power, not to help regular people. Democracy is supposed to be messy, loud, and open, but the EDS wants to tidy it up into something they can control. We don't need a shield; we need the EU to listen to its own people and stop acting like they know best. Until then, I'm calling this what it is, a fancy cage dressed up as a saviour.

https://nakedemperor.substack.com/p/eu-creates-european-democracy-shield

"On December 6, 2024, the European Social and Economic Committee (EESC) hosted a Policy discussion titled "Forging the European Democracy Shield: Expanding Scope, Deepening Impact, and Maximising Political Leverage" in collaboration with International IDEA, the European Partnership for Democracy and the Kofi Annan Foundation. Nearly 100 participants attended the event, including civil society, member states, EU institutions, academia, and media.

The European Democracy Shield, as outlined in European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's political guidelines, aims to counter foreign information manipulation and interference online by enhancing media literacy, fact-checking, and enforcing the Digital Services Act and the AI Act. The policy discussion served as a multi-stakeholder platform to deliberate on the thematic and geographic scope of the European Democracy Shield, fostering collaboration and dialogue among all relevant parties.

Moozová, Deputy Director-General at the Commission's DG JUST, presented the plans for the European Democracy Shield as a new integrated framework. It will protect Europe from information manipulation and foreign interference, building on recent EU initiatives such as the Digital Services Act, Artificial Intelligence Act, Democracy Action Plan and Defence of Democracy Package. The Commission will ensure coherence among these initiatives. While political steering from the College of Commissioners is still underway, the Commission intends to further engage with a large variety of partners to develop the EDS in an informed way. The forthcoming Commission report on the European Parliament elections 2024 is expected to further inspire the design of the EDS. It will include an evaluation and recommendations to further finetune the available frameworks to defend democracy online.

During the policy discussion speakers agreed that the EU should take a holistic approach to the EDS, which should cover foreign information manipulation and interference, as well as civic and institutional resilience. It should implement existing tools and step up action and coordination in the field of media literacy, fact-checking and support for independent journalism as essential components of the Shield. The initiative should revitalize democracy within the EU, addressing attacks on democratic institutions and processes, the rule of law and civil society.

The EDS should aim to protect and promote democracy both within the EU and beyond its borders. The geographic scope of defending democracy should include not only the EU 27 Member States but also the enlargement countries, as they face constant challenges and attacks on their democracy. The Commission could step up its support to defending the political systems of enlargement countries by fighting cyberattacks in election campaigns, combatting disinformation, banning foreign funding, and strengthening electoral observation. Democracy should be brought to the security agenda and placed at the heart of the EU defence strategy.

Further takeaways of the policy discussion included:

Building a comprehensive strategy to defend democracy, focusing on civic engagement, accountability, equality, and the rule of law, is essential both within and beyond the EU.

Shielding democracy should not be done too narrowly but must include reinforcing democratic institutions such as elections, parliaments, and courts. This reflects the Commission's recommendation on electoral resilience, in its 2023 Defense of Democracy package.

Acknowledging that big tech companies play a significant role in amplifying information manipulation, the EU needs to better understand how much information manipulation is amplified, how the existing instruments can address the business model that makes algorithmic amplification of coordinated manipulation possible and consider further regulatory action to address profiling and algorithms.

The EU must put media literacy and support for independent journalism to combat disinformation at the center of the EDS. This includes reinforcing a strong and vibrant media landscape to support democracy and reviewing funding models to tackle the monopoly on advertising incomes by Meta and Google.

Promoting dialogues between political parties, citizens, and civil society is crucial to counter information manipulation and support democratic participation.

Operationalizing the EDS by enhancing the European Cooperation Network on Elections will improve resilience and coordination among EU member states and candidate countries. This includes a stronger secretariat that has the capacity to support ECNE members through international comparative research, and support more active peer exchange."